Forbidden Love
by ShellBell822
Summary: COMPLETE Alcazar’s estranged 19-year-old daughter comes to Port Charles unexpectedly and refuses to have anything to do with her father’s business dealings. She becomes friends with Carly despite the history between her and Alcazar. She also becomes roman
1. Prologue

Forbidden Love This is my first General Hospital Fan fiction (although I have written others for a different show). I hope you all like it. Please read and review. Thanks!!

Author's Note: Courtney and Sam do not exist in this story. I am picking this up from after Alcazar had kidnapped Carly, and delivered her baby. Sonny did accidentally shoot her but they are still together. The main characters I am using are my own created character (Jessica Alcazar), Lorenzo Alcazar, Sonny Corinthos, Carly Corinthos, Jason Morgan, and Ric Lansing. Other characters will be making appearances at times.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters associated with the show General Hospital as they belong to the creators of the show and the ABC Network.

Summary: Alcazar's estranged 19-year-old daughter comes to Port Charles unexpectedly and refuses to have anything to do with her father's business dealings. She becomes friends with Carly despite the history between her and Alcazar. She also becomes romantically involved with a certain mob-boss's right hand man. Can their love survive, even if it means a war between two rival families?

Prologue: It was dark as she walked through the park. She had never been to Port Charles before and she was sure why she was here now. He probably won't even want me here, she thought to herself as she left the park and headed in the direction of the high-rise building.Stepping off the elevator, she took a deep breath and walked up to one of the guards and said, "I want to see my father." The man nodded his head, recognizing her from his boss's last trip to South America – when he buried his sixteen-year-old niece. He knocked, opened the door and announced her presence to his boss. She took another deep breath and turned to face the tall dark haired man in front of her: her father Lorenzo Alcazar.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Two weeks later . . . Jessica had finally found the perfect apartment and was heading back to her gather's penthouse to tell him and start packing her things.

Passing the ever-present guards, Jessica walked into the penthouse and was relived to find that her father was not there. Although he had been shocked to see her, he welcomed her into his home. The last couple of weeks had been tough as she tried to stay out of his way.

Jessica had just finished packing the last of her things and was writing a quick note, when the door opened and Alcazar walked in.

"What are you doing?" he asked, noting the suitcases at her feet. Although he had been surprised to see her, he was glad she was here. It had been hard when he had lost his niece Sage and now that his daughter was back in his life, he was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe.

Jessica straightened up from the desk. "I wasn't sure when you would be back," she said. Then she explained about the apartment and her reasons for moving out.

Alcazar nodded, agreeing it was the best thing to do. He did not want her involved in his business in any way and it was hard to conduct his business while she was living in the penthouse with him.

When he offered to have guards set up for her, Jessica folded her arms over her chest. "No," she said firmly.

"Jessica, I need to know that you're safe," Lorenzo said, sighing and running his hand through his hair, an unconscious gesture when he was frustrated. Jessica had seen it a lot when she was a child.

"Look dad, I know you were devastated when Sage died, but I am not some silly teenager who things she's invincible," Jessica stated. Jessica had barely known Sage, but what she did know, she did not like. She felt that Sage had been self-centered and spoiled.

"I know you are not Sage, but I want to protect you. It is my job as your father," Lorenzo said gently.

"How about we compromise," she said and Lorenzo saw the sparkle in her eyes that were just like his own.

"And what would that be?" he asked, trying to hide a smile.

"If I feel I am in danger, I will ask for protection." Lorenzo took a deep breath but agreed, knowing she wasn't going to back down.

Jessica looked at herself in the mirror, liking what she saw. The form fitting blue boot-cut jeans hugged her slim legs and rode low on her waist. Her top was low cut and form fitting, showing off her generous cleavage and flat stomach. She had pulled her long black, straight hair into a ponytail, allowing some pieces to fall gently around her face. She put the finishing touches on her makeup and quickly ran her fingers through her bangs. After pulling on a pair of pointy-toed, spike-heeled boots, Jessica grabbed her purse and headed out to a club called The Cellar.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Carly Corinthos smiled to herself as she sat at the bar and surveyed the pack club. The Cellar was fast becoming one of Port Charles's hottest spots.

"Hey beautiful," said a voice on her right side as a hand slid around her waist.

Carly smiled and turned to dace her husband. She still got tingles every time she smiled at her. Sonny and Carly had been through a lot over the last few years, but it seemed that their love was strong enough to get them through any thing.

"Place looks great," Sonny said, turning again to look at the packed tables.

"I know. I can't believe it's all coming together," she said with a satisfied smile.

Sonny was proud of his wife and her accomplishments. She had worked hard to get this club up and running and he wasn't about to let anyone or anything ruin this for her.

Jessica walked into The Cellar and stopped at the entrance. She knew this was not going to be easy, especially considering who she was. She knew that not many people in Port Charles liked her father, but she was hoping they would at least give her a chance.

Jessica scanned the room and found the person she was looking for. The woman was standing by the bar and Jessica had to admit that she was beautiful. Her dark hair was sleek and shiny as it swayed around her shoulders. The red V-neck top hugged her petite frame as did the black leather, knee length black leather skirt. A pair of knee high black boots completed the look.

Jessica took a deep breath, realizing that she had been doing a lot of that in the last couple of weeks. Slowly, she approached the woman at the bar.

Carly had seen the young woman standing at the entrance. The girl caught her eye because Carly had never seen her before. She watched as the girl slowly walked toward her.

"Mrs. Corinthos?" Jessica asked, knowing full well who she was. "I was wondering if I could speak to you?" Jessica asked, noticing the very good-looking man standing next to Carly. She knew this was Sonny Corinthos, her father's number one enemy – at least in her father's eyes.

Jessica saw that Carly was looking at her expectantly, wondering what this girl could possibly want.

"My name is Jessica and I just moved to Port Charles. I heard about your club and was wondering if I could work with you," she said in a rush of one breath. Carly and Sonny were looking at her.

So far Carly liked this girl. She had guts to walk up to the owner of the club, introduce herself and ask for a job. Plus, Carly had to admit, this girl, Jessica, had great fashion sense.

"Let's talk somewhere a little more private," said Carly, motioning for Jessica to follow her to the back where her office was located. Sonny followed, intrigued by this girl who reminded him, he was sure, of someone he knew.

Once they were settled in Carly's office, Jessica said, "Before you ask, I am 19 years old and don't have much experience waitressing, but I learn fast, am very creative and organized and a hard worker." Jessica paused to take a breath, noting the amused look on Carly's face.

"I like you. I like the guts it took for you to do this," said Carly as she jotted down some notes. "I do need a hostess and someone to help me manage the day to day running of this place," said Carly as she glance over at her husband. Sonny had been quiet throughout the interview. Finally, he cleared his throat, causing Jessica to turn towards him.

"What did you say your name was and how did you know that Carly owned this place?"

"Well, Mr. Corinthos, I have heard a lot about you and your wife and this club and I wanted a chance to work with a woman who is strong and know what she wants and how to get it. As for who I am . . . like I said, my name is Jessica . . . Jessica Alcazar," she finished, taking in Carly's wide eyes and Sonny's stony expression.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jessica wasn't sure how to break the silence that descended over the small office. She decided to jump right in before either of them could say anything. "I know there is a history between the both of you and my father and I do not agree with a lot of his actions, particularly what he did to you Mrs. Corinthos," Jessica said, shifting her gaze to the older woman. "I am here to make a name for myself that is not associated to my father's business. You can trust me to work for you and be around you without influence from my father," she finished, trying to read the looks on Sonny's and Carly's faces.

Carly recovered first, glancing sideways at her husband, knowing he was not going to like her decision. Carly understood Jessica's feelings about wanting to make it on her own. "Well, I am willing to give you a chance," said Carly as she stood up, extended her hands with a smile. "How about you meet me here about 11 am and we can go over responsibilities," said Carly, ushering Jessica out of the office before Sonny could voice his opinions. Carly saw Jessica glance at Sonny and whispered, "Don't worry about him."

Jessica nodded her head and headed back out to the main floor of the club. She was proud of herself for doing what she did on her own without her father's influence.

Sonny continued his pacing through the penthouse that he started in Carly's office. He did not like this one bit, but he knew Carly and he knew how stubborn she was, especially when it came to doing something he did not approve of.

Just then, as Sonny was making his latest pass through the room, the penthouse door opened and in walked Jason Morgan, Sonny's right hand man, his enforcer, and his best friend.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked as he shut the door and stood by the desk. Jason had known Sonny for as long as he could remember. He respected the older man who took him in and gave him a life and a job that he loved.

"I need you to get some information for me," Sonny said, handing Jason a think folder that contained the little he already knew. "Her name is Jessica Alcazar," he began, stopping at the slightly surprised look on Jason's face. "Yeah, she's Alcazar's daughter. She came by The Cellar tonight and talked to Carly about working for her."

Jason looked at Sonny, knowing the answer, but asking the question anyway, "Did she hire her, knowing who she was?"

"Of course, it's Carly we're talking about here," said Sonny with a tiny smile, but feeling frustrated over the whole situation. "She said that she wanted to give this girl a chance to prove herself."

"What are your thoughts about the girl? Can she be trusted?" Jason asked as he opened the folder and scanned through the information inside.

"She claimed she was not connected to Alcazar's business in any way and was not interested in using a job with Carly as an advantage for Alcazar."

Jason nodded, "Okay, I'll see what I can find out. When do you want it?"

"Before 11 am tomorrow, that's when she and Carly are meeting at the club," said Sonny, taking a sip from the drink he had poured.

Jason nodded again and then left. He had a long night ahead of him.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jessica had just finished making a cup of hot chocolate – her one weakness – when there was a knock at her door. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was after midnight and knew there was one person who would come to see her at this hour.

"Come in Dad," she said as she opened the door and walked back to the couch with her mug.

"Why didn't you ask who was at that door?" Alcazar demanded, shaking his head at his daughter's blatant disregard for her own safety. "What if it has been someone who wanted to hurt you?" he asked.

Jessica rolled her eyes as she sipped her hot chocolate. "I doubt that is someone really wanted me dead they would knock first," Jessica stated calmly.

Lorenzo shook his head again and sat on the couch. "I heard you went to The Cellar tonight," he said. He wasn't sure how to talk to her. They did not have much of a relationship while she was growing up and then she just showed up at his front door.

Jessica sighed and set her half empty mug down on the low coffee table. "Did you have me followed?" she asked, building up to blast him for going against her not wanting bodyguards.

"No, I did not have you followed. Carly called me," he said, noting Jessica's surprised look. He continued on before she could say anything. "She called to tell me that she liked you, thought you were nothing like me – except for the eyes – and that your working with her had nothing to do with me."

Jessica was quiet a moment. "Good," she said. "I wanted to make it clear to both her and Sonny that I was not influenced by either your business dealings or fascination with Carly."

Lorenzo nodded. "Just be careful, Sonny Corinthos is not a very trusting man, especially when it comes to the Alcazar name."

"I am sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you kidnapped his pregnant wife and held her for months and then constantly hounded her when she was rescued and took advantage of her brain injury. It's a wonder he doesn't trust the family names," Jessica said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Lorenzo knew not to argue, knowing he wasn't going to win. "You know Corinthos is going to have you checked out," was all he could think to say.

"That's fine with me. I wouldn't have expected less, I have nothing to hide," she said, knowing it was true. She figured the only strike against her was her last name.

Lorenzo nodded, he had his reservations about Jessica having any connections with Corinthos, but he knew he wasn't going to talk Jessica out of this. "You are so much like your mother," he said quietly.

Jessica looked up at him in surprise. "This is the first time since I have been here that you mentioned her." Jessica still missed her mother very much, she had died when Jessica was nine-years-old.

Lorenzo stood up. "I know my relationship with Elaina was strained when she found out about my real business, but I loved her very much and always will," he said, a peacefulness he felt only when he thought of her, washing over him.

"Even though she kept my existence from you until she died?" Jessica had always known who her father was, but had never actually met the man until after her mother's funeral.

"Even then, I loved her," he said, bringing Jessica back from her thoughts. "I was surprised, of course, when a lawyer contacted me to say that my wife was dead, although we were not together, we were never officially divorced, and that she had willed custody of out nine-year-old daughter to me."

Jessica remembered the day when her grandmother had introduced her to her father, a man she had never known before.

Bringing herself back to the present, Jessica stood up as well. "I also remember how scared you looked when I came into the room," she said with a small smile. "But I am gown-up now and I need to start living my own life."

He nodded, silently agreeing with her. He said good-night a couple of minutes later and smiled as he heard the locks clicking into place behind him.

"What did you find?" Sonny asked as Jason walked onto Penthouse 4 first thing the next morning. He had spent the night finding out what he could about Jessica Alcazar and was exhausted, but he wasn't about o show that to his mentor. He blinked past the burning in his tired eyes.

"Well, she's clean. No criminal background at all. She was born to Elaina Gutierrez-Alcazar on August 22, 1985. She grew up in South America until she was nine. Her mother died ten years ago from cancer and that's when she was put into Alcazar's custody. She grew up in boarding schools in Europe. She's also very smart, according to her school records. No record of juvenile delinquency in school, it seems she was a loner. Absolutely no involvement with Alcazar's business," he finished, rubbing his eyes and accepting the cup of coffee Sonny handed him. "Thanks."

Sonny nodded. "Well, I guess there's nothing I can use to keep her away from Carly," he said as his wife came down the stairs, rolling her eyes.

"Are you satisfied now?" she asked, standing in between her husband and Jason. "I wish you two would trust my judgment for once."

"You were right once Carly, don't push it," said Sonny, flashing a smile as he moved out of his wife's reach.

Jason smiled slightly, then said his good-bye's and headed back to his own penthouse across the hall to get some sleep.

"So, I wrote up some duties you can take over around here," said Carly as she handed Jessica some notes.

"I take it your husband thought I was safe?" asked Jessica as she looked over the papers.

Carly took a deep breath and looked at the younger woman. "Sonny did have you checked out, but he didn't find anything."

"I figured he would and I don't have a problem with it," Jessica reassured Carly. "It comes with the name."

"Look, I like you and I know you will be a great asset to my club, and a great new friend, so don't worry about what Sonny thinks or what other people will think because of who your father is."

"Wow," said Jessica, sitting back in her chair and staring at Carly in awe.

"What?" asked Carly curiously, a small smile playing over her lips.

"It's just that I never really had friends while growing up who were not afraid to speak their mind in front of me. I mean, my mother kept me pretty much secluded as a child and then in boarding school, it seemed as if everyone was afraid of me. I guess it is just refreshing," Jessica finished.

Carly smiled, knowing she was going to like this girl more and more.

Jessica was very satisfied with the way things had gone that morning. They had finished up by going over a schedule and more formal responsibilities. Jessica had then decided to treat herself to a few new outfits, something Carly gladly joined her for, and lunch at Kelly's. Jessica was heading home, thinking about her day when she felt like she walked into a leather-clad wall.

Stumbling back, Jessica felt a pair of strong arms grabbing her and steadying her before she fell. Looking up to apologize for not paying attention, Jessica looked up into an amazing pair of blue eyes.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jessica couldn't tear her eyes away from the man who still held her. After another moment, he stepped back from her slightly, his hands falling from her arms.

Jessica finally found her voice. "I'm sorry," she said, glad that her voice did not come out in a squeak. "I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"No problem," Jason answered as he looked at the young woman in front of him. She was young, maybe about twenty. She had dark eyes fringed with long dark lashes. Her lips were full and looked soft and she had long dark hair that framed her face.

"Well, I see you two have met!" Carly said as she nonchalantly came down the stairs. On the outside she was calm, but on the inside she was doing cartwheels at the connection she saw pass between the two of them. Carly saw how Jessica couldn't take her eyes off of Jason and how Jason held onto her a little longer than necessary when she stopped her from falling.

"Actually, we just ran into each other, literally," said Jessica, finally tearing her eyes away from the man in from of her to look at Carly. "You two know each other?" she asked, thinking this would be an advantage for her. If they already were friends then maybe she would see more of this good looking man around the club.

Carly nodded as she came to join the two. Looking them over, Carly decided that they looked good together. "Jason has been the rock in my life for years," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "Jason Morgan, this is my new co-manager at The Cellar, Jessica Alcazar."

Jason nodded, he knew who she was but hadn't expected her to be so beautiful.

Feeling that her work was done – for now – Carly backed away from the two. "Well, I should get going, Max is waiting. . . and no Jason, I did not ditch him," she said when Jason gave her a look.

After she was gone, Jessica laughed. "Is she always like that?" she asked. Jason smiled slightly as he nodded. "You'll get used to her," he said. "Do you want some company on your walk?" he asked. He didn't want to leave her just yet.

"I'd like that," she said with a smile. They started walking in the direction of her apartment, neither of them noticing the man watching them.

After walking Jessica to her place, Jason headed to the warehouse to do a quick security check and pick up some paperwork before heading home for the night.

Jessica let herself into her apartment and threw her coat and bag onto the couch. It had been a long day, the best part being meeting Jason Morgan. She couldn't explain it, but in the little time she spent with him, she felt a kind of attraction toward him. She laughed to herself and brushed it off as a physical attraction and nothing more.

The dark haired man couldn't believe his luck. He had found a way to get rid of both Corinthos/Morgan and Alcazar. All he had to do was watch and wait and plan and everything would fall into place.

It was another busy night at The Cellar, and Jessica was enjoying every minute of it. A lot of people were there, but it did not seem cramped at all. There was a band playing that night and a few couples took advantage of the open dance floor. As Jessica's eyes roamed over the crowd, she couldn't get the piercing blue eyes and gentle smile of Jason Morgan out of her head.

"I bet I would need only one guess to know who you're thinking about," said a voice behind her.

Jessica jumped and spun around, seeing Carly standing behind her. Her boss looked good tonight in a black halter top and dark blue jeans. Jessica herself had decided on a light pink top that showed off her figure and a pair of black pants that were wide on the leg.

Knowing her cheeks were now red, Jessica avoided looking at her boss and headed toward the bar. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said as she ordered a glass of sparkling water.

Carly rolled her eyes. "Come off it Jessica," she said. "I saw the way the two of you looked at each other last night. I felt the connection, so I know you felt it too."

Jessica really couldn't deny it. She really didn't know Jason very well and she didn't have much experience with relationships, but she had felt something when she was with Jason last night.

Jason walked into The Cellar that night. He didn't usually go when it was open – unless he was forced by Carly – but he had promised Sonny he would keep an eye on Carly's new employee to make sure there wasn't any trouble.

He spotted the two woman over by the bar, deep in conversation. He smiled slightly as he watched his friend being very animated, as Carly tended to be, and Jessica stepping slightly back to avoid Carly's flying hands.

His hopes of going unnoticed faded when Carly caught his eye and waved him over. Sighing, Jason walked over, knowing that if he ignored her or walked away, Carly would hunt him down, but not too sure if he wanted to know what she wanted.

"Ladies," he said before ordering a beer.

"Hi Jason," said Jessica, again captivated by his eyes.

Carly watched the exchange, ready to put the first part of her plan into place. She knew Jason was going to be there tonight. She "overheard" Sonny telling Jason to keep on eye on Jessica; obviously he still did not trust her. This upset Carly, but she figured she could use it to her advantage to push the two of the together as much as possible. "Hey!" she said, getting both of Jessica's and Jason's attention. "Ummm. . . Jessica, can you go in the back. . . there's a box of cocktail napkins we need," she said, trying to look innocent. "They should be on the top shelf."

"Now?" asked Jessica, surprised because she had checked the supplies herself and thought there were already enough napkins behind the bar.

"Yes, now," said Carly. Then she pushed Jason toward Jessica adding, "Jason will help you."

Jason rolled his eyes and turned to Carly. "Since when do I work for you?" he asked, starting to feel annoyed with her and her games.

Carly ignored him and walked away.

Jessica laughed at the exchange and headed toward the back room, not sure if Jason was following her.

She quickly located the box at the top of the shelf out of her reach. Looking around, she found a step stool. Opening it, Jessica placed it where she needed it and climbed up. Even in her heels her fingers just barely touched the box. She raised herself onto her toes to reach better, and just as she got a grip on the box, the little step stool started to wobble and Jessica felt herself falling. Bracing herself to hit the floor, she was surprised when she landed in a pair of strong arms. Opening her eyes, she met Jason's blue ones.

"We really need to stop meeting like this," she said with a laugh, feeling quite comfortable in his arms.

Author's Note: Sorry it took so long for this chapter, but I was sick and then struggling with where I wanted this chapter to go. I know it may seem slow, but I want to establish Jessica as a character; the story line should be picking itself up soon. I also want to thank everyone for their reviews as they have continued to give me the motivation to keep going. I will give slight spoiler though: there will be a snow storm in my story, but I thought of it before it was used on GH so I am not copying them, it just seems that great minds think alike!! :0) Enjoy and keep the reviews coming.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Two months later. . .

Cold winter weather started to settle over Port Charles as Jessica made her way home from The Cellar. Jessica had settled nicely into her new life in Port Charles and loved her job. She and Carly had become closer over the past couple of months and Sonny seemed to tolerate her.

The one thing Jessica really liked about living in Port Charles was her growing relationship with Jason. Jessica smiled as she thought back to that night in the store room at The Cellar.

-Flashback-

_"We really need to stop meeting like this," she said with a laugh, feeling quite comfortable in his arms._

_Jason set her down on her feet, but kept his arms around her. Jessica kept her arms around his neck, starring into his eyes._

_They spoke no words as Jason lowered his head to hers and gently brushed his lips over hers. Jessica melted into the kiss as it deepened._

-Flashback-

Jessica and Jason had decided to see where this would go and did not want to rush anything. They had also agreed to keep their relationship quiet for now, due to who they were connected to. It wasn't easy though, especially when Carly was around. She seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to this kind of thing, but so far she had not confronted either of them.

Cutting through the park, Jessica pulled her jacket a little closer to her as a blast of wind blew over her. Jessica picked up her pace, wanting to get home and freshen up before Jason arrived. For the last few weeks Jason stopped by her place every night after checking on things at the warehouse. She knew he was still at the club with Carly, but would be leaving soon.

Enjoying the quiet night, Jessica did not notice the figure dressed all in black following her.

Now was his chance, she was alone. He had been watching her for a while now and knew this was the right time to act.

Jessica was yanked out of her thoughts of Jason when a gloved hand clamped over he mouth, cutting off her scream. Jessica struggled and tried to pry the fingers off of her mouth, but he was too strong.

She tried to stomp down on the attacker's foot or kick him in the shins, but that stopped when she felt a sharp, piercing pain in her abdomen. As blackness clouded her vision, the object was pulled out and she could see the knife glistening with her blood. Then everything went black.

"Come on Jason," Carly said as she followed closely behind him. "Why won't you tell me where you're going?"

"Carly, go home," said Jason, wanting to get away from her and to Jessica. The feelings he had been having for her still surprised him. He had never felt this way for anyone before, including Robin and Elizabeth. Jessica accepted him for who he was without question. She accepted and understood the life he led and did not try to change him or make him choose. He was falling in love with her.

"Jason, slow down!" Carly yelled, practically running now. "You know, you're going to have to tell me sooner or later."

"Carly, enough!" Jason shot over his shoulder.

"Fine, but this is not over!" she exclaimed. She turned to go, seeing that Max had been following them to make sure she got home safely, the ever loyal bodyguard. As she headed toward Max, Carly tripped and stumbled over something. Looking down, she saw a black, spike-heeled boot that looked faintly familiar.

Stepping toward the bushes, she pulled the branches aside and couldn't believe her eyes. "Jason!" she screamed.

Jason raced back to Carly, getting there at the same time as Max. He looked to where Carly was looking and felt his heart jump into his throat. "Jessica," he whispered.

Dropping to the ground beside her, he gently took her into his arms, searching out her pulse, praying his fingers would find the steady beating. What he found was weak and slow. He quickly scanned her head, searching for an injury, resting his hand on her stomach. He felt something wet and sticky and when he removed his hand, was horrified to see it now covered with blood. "Call an ambulance!" he yelled at Carly and Max as he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her pale, limp body.

**Author's Note: I know this was a short chapter, but it felt right to end it here. Now that I am vacation, I should be able to write and post faster. As always, please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lorenzo paced back and forth in the emergency room's waiting room. Almost a half-hour ago he had received a frantic call from Carly, telling him to get to General Hospital quickly, that Jessica was hurt.

Lorenzo had rushed to the hospital to see Carly and Jason, who had brought her in. They were unable to give him much information, except that they had found her in the park with what appeared to be a knife wound in her stomach. They had been unable to find the attacker or the weapon.

Lorenzo spun around when the doors leading to the OR that held his daughter opened and Monica Quartermaine cam out. Lorenzo's heart almost stopped at the sight of the blood – his daughter's blood – on her gloved hands and scrubs.

"How is she? What's going on with my daughter?" he practically yelled, getting the attention of Carly, Jason and Sonny. They went over to see what was going on. Jason was doing his best not to let his emotions show on his face, but he was terrified that he would lose the woman he loved.

Monica held up her hands to hold off more of Alcazar's questions. "Jessica has what appears to be a knife wound in her upper abdominal region. Luckily, the muscles where very strong in that area and kept the damage from being any worse. No major organs or arteries were hit, but she did lose a lot of blood," Monica took a breath and looked around at the faces around her, her eyes stopping on her son's. For a split second the hard look her always wore slipped and she saw relief on his face and something she thought she would never again see in his eyes: love.

"Is she going to be okay?" Lorenzo asked, brining Monica's attention back to him.

"We were able to repair the damage and stop the bleeding, but the amount of blood she lost and the time out in the cold has taken a toll on her body. She's still unconscious and I can't tell you when she will wake up. It could be hours, or it could be days," Monica finished.

Lorenzo nodded, taking in everything she said. "I want to see my daughter," he said, making sure he made it clear there was no room for discussion.

Lorenzo sighed. He has been sitting by his daughter's side for the last hour, but there had been no change. He held her hand in his. Her skin still felt cold to the touch and her face was unusually pale.

As he continued to feel helpless – a feeling that he hated – he vowed that he would find who did this and make them pay. And he knew where to start.

"Jason, will you relax and stop pacing!" Carly exclaimed, feeling frustrated at not being able to help her friend. "Monica said that Jessica was going to be okay."

Jason stopped pacing and sat down next to Carly. "I know, but I should have been there," he said, running his hands through his spiky hair.

"Jason, I know how much you care about Jessica," she said and then smiled at Jason's surprised expression. "You guys might have thought you could hide it from me, but you can't. I know you two have been seeing each other secretly," she added.

Jason nodded, knowing he couldn't be able to lie to Carly, even if he wanted to. "I love her Carly and not being able to be with her right now is killing me," he said, knowing Carly would understand.

"I can understand why you and Jessica wanted to keep you relationship a secret Jason, but it's going to come out eventually and Sonny and Alcazar will know," Carly said sympathetically.

Jason nodded and vowed to talk to Jessica as soon as possible. Before he could respond though, someone grabbed him from behind, hauled him out of his chair and threw it into the bar. "What the hell did you do to my daughter?"

"Lorenzo stop!" Carly yelled, forcing herself between the two men. "Jason did nothing to Jessica, this was not his fault!"

Lorenzo looked down at the woman he knew in his heart he still loved. Taking a deep breath he backed off slightly, but glared at the two people in from of him. "I told her not to get involved," he said in a low voice, wanting to hurt whoever hurt his family.

Carly stared at Alcazar, not believing he was blaming them for what happened. "You think we had something to do with this?" she asked.

"Who else would do this Carly?" Alcazar shouted at her. "Sonny will never get over or forget what you and I had, so this is his revenge!"

Carly and Jason stared at him in astonishment. "You think Sonny did this? You're crazy!" she said.

Lorenzo stared at her. "Crazy? Yeah, maybe I am crazy, crazy to have allowed my daughter to be involved with any of you. I should have known something like this was going to happen, and believe me, when I find out the truth Carly, everyone will pay.

Just then Alcazar's phone rang, interrupting whatever Carly was going to say. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he stepped away to take the call. "Alcazar," he said. He listened for a moment. "I'll be right there." Without saying anything to Carly or Jason, Alcazar left.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Lorenzo walked into Jessica's room, a smile on his face when he saw her awake and sitting up slightly. She still looked pale, but he was glad she was alive. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if she had not made it.

Jessica looked up when she heard the door open, hoping it was Jason, but it wasn't, it was her father. Looking at him, she could see worry, fear and anger in his eyes.

"Hey, good to see you awake," Lorenzo said, kissing Jessica on the forehead and then sitting beside her in the chair next to the bed.

Jessica was confused. _What am I doing in the hospital?_ She thought to herself, not sure what was going on. Jessica tried to sit up a little straighter, but gasped at the pain radiating from her stomach.

Lorenzo was at her side immediately, easing her back down. "You shouldn't try to move too much, you might pull your stitches."

Jessica looked at her father in confusion. "Stitches?" she asked. "Dad, what happened to me? What am I here?" she asked, hearing how her voice shook with fright.

Lorenzo was momentarily shocked that Jessica did not remember what happened to her. He wasn't sure if he should tell her just yet, but the confusion and fear in her eyes made him realize he needed to tell her the truth. He gently took her hand in his and cleared his throat.

"Jessica, you were attacked in the park last night and your attacker stabbed you in your stomach," he explained as gently as he could, watching her face for a reaction. "Whoever did this to you left you in the park, in the cold, bleeding."

As her father spoke, it all came back to her: She remembered leaving the club and walking through the park to get home. She remembered thinking about Jason and seeing him that night. She also remembered being grabbed from behind, a gloved hand over her mouth. She remembered trying to scream and struggle to get away. She remembered the white hot pain in her stomach, of the blackness creeping into her vision and feeling her clothing becoming wet. And just before everything went dark, she remembered seeing the knife with her blood on it.

Lorenzo watched the range of emotions that passed over Jessica's face, worried as to what she was remembering. After another minute, she shook her head to clear the images. "How did I get here?" she finally asked. Lorenzo heard the tremor in her voice.

"Carly and Morgan found you and brought her here. Carly called me," he said.

Jessica nodded as she took in the information. _Jason saved me,"_ she thought. A warmth spreading over her at that thought. She looked over at her father again, and saw the same look on his face as she did when he came in. _Does he know about me and Jason?"_ she wondered, feeling slightly nervous now. Jessica did not think this was the right time to fill her father in on the fact that she was in love with one of his enemies.

Taking a deep breath, Jessica decided that she needed to know what he was thinking so she would know how to respond or what to say. "Dad, what's going on? What are you thinking?"

Lorenzo looked up at his daughter and saw the worry in her eyes. "Jessica, did you see who did this to you? Did they say anything to you?" he needed proof that Morgan and Corinthos were behind this. He knew it would be suicide to accuse them right off, as he had pretty much done earlier today, but he knew how close Jessica had become to Carly and did not want to make false accusations.

Jessica shook her head. "No, I didn't even hear him come up behind me," she said.

"You're sure it was a man?" he asked.

Jessica nodded. "The person was too strong not too be. And when he pulled me to him, I could tell it was not a woman," she said.

"He didn't say anything to you?"

Again, Jessica shook her head. "He covered my mouth with his hand and he was wearing gloves, leather ones. I tried to struggle, kick him, pry his hand from my mouth, but then I felt the knife. . . and that's all I remember until I woke up here," she said.

Lorenzo did not like hearing his daughter describe what happened to her. Then he asked his next question, watching her face as she answered. "Is there anyway Corinthos or Morgan could have done this?"

"WHAT? You're serious, aren't you?" she asked in astonishment, momentarily forgetting the stitches and sitting up straight again. She hissed in pain and leaned back again. "Why would you think something like that?"

"Why Jessica? Why would I think something like that? Jessica, Corinthos hates the fact that his wife felt something for me while they were still married. He has never and will never get over it, and this would be the perfect revenge," he said, knowing he was raising his voice, as he indicated her abdominal region. "He would do anything to hurt me. And if he didn't do it himself, he would defiantly have Morgan carry out his orders for him."

Jessica shook her head, knowing that this was one order Jason would not carry out. She knew that Sonny still was wary of her and her connection to Carly, but she knew he would not do this. "You're wrong," she said, raising her voice in anger. "Sonny and Jason may hate you for what you did, and so would Carly for that matter, but they would NEVER do this to me!!"

"How can you be so sure of that Jessica?" Alcazar yelled at her. In the time he had known his daughter he had never yelled at her before. She had been a good child and never really needed to be reprimanded, but he was scared now, scared of losing her like he lost his wife before he had a chance to really know her. He knew he had not been the best father to her, but he had tried his best to protect her from his life.

"What is going on in here?" asked Monica as she walked into the room to see father and daughter glaring at each other. Although Jessica was angry, Monica could see that she was pale and started to shake from the exertion of the argument.

Alcazar turned to Dr. Quartermaine, realizing that he and Jessica had been causing a commotion. Turning back to his daughter, he saw what Monica saw. Jessica was pale with dark circles under her eyes. He instantly felt bad for getting angry and worked up. "I'm sorry," he said, more to his daughter than to the doctor. "I should go so that you can rest," he added, picking up his coat and walking out of the room.

After her father had left, Jessica assured Monica that she was fine and then tried to get some sleep. But it was hard to sleep, images of the attack kept creeping into her mind and she would jolt awake, a feeling of deep fear rising in her. After waking for the third time in the last two hours, Jessica heard a knock at the door. It opened slightly as she hoped it wasn't her father; she was too tired for another fight.

"Hey," said the voice and she looked up, a wide smile on her face.

"Jason," she said, glad that he had come by to see her. Jason came into the room and sat in the chair her father was in earlier.

At first, Jason wasn't going to come and see her; he knew it would look too suspicious if Alcazar happened to be there. But he couldn't stay away any longer. It has been a long, restless night for him, worrying about her. He needed to see for himself that she was awake and alive.

"I really shouldn't be here," he said quietly, hoping she would understand what he meant.

Jessica nodded her head. "I know, but I am so glad that you are here. When I woke up, I didn't remember what happened to me and no one was here to tell me," she said, looking at him. "But then m father came and told me, although I don't think he wanted too, and I remembered everything. Then we started arguing and Monica had to come in and he left. I haven't seen him since, and I don't think he will be back for a while."

Jason nodded. "You said you remembered what happened, did you see the person?" he asked. Jason wanted to know who did this and take care of it. He was angry that he had not been there for her; he should have walked her home instead of waiting for Max to arrive to take Carly home. Then he wasted more time arguing with Carly.

Jessica watched his face before answering the question. "No, I never saw him," she said and then went on to tell him the same thing she had told her father. "My father thinks that Sonny is behind this," she added almost in a whisper.

"I know. He came to the club this morning and threatened me," he said.

"He did what?" she asked, anger creeping back into her face. "I can't believe him!! That's what we were fighting about. He swears that Sonny is responsible and that he had you do the job for him."

Jason looked at her, knowing Alcazar would definitely feel that way. He nodded his head. "Yeah, well, Carly got him to back off," he said.

"I told him that Sonny would not do this, but I don't think he wants to believe that," she said. "I know that Sonny would not have done this, and even if he did, I know you would never follow through on the order . . . at least I would hope you wouldn't." Jessica knew how she felt about Jason and how Jason felt about her, but neither of them had ever really expressed it.

Jason was shocked at her final statement. "Jessica, I would never do anything to hurt you," he said, leaning forward and, with one hand, he took her hand, and with the other he gently turned her chin toward him. "Jessica, I would do anything to keep you safe and it is tearing me up inside that I was not there to protect you last night. I will find the person who did this to you and make them pay," he said, staring into her eyes. "Jessica, I love you and I will die before I let anyone touch you again."

Jessica stared at him with wide eyes. She could feel the tears pooling in them when she heard the three words she wasn't sure he was ever going to say to her. Smiling through her watery eyes, she said, "I love you too Jason."

He gently cupped the side of her face and pulled her closer, careful not to hurt her and leaned forward to meet her half way. He then kissed her gently on the lips, vowing to make this right.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Shortly after Jason left, Jessica was still reeling over the revelations that had just occurred. Jessica was still deep in thought when there was a knock on her door and Nurse Bobbie Spencer came into the room. "Well, you look like you're feeling better," she said as she checked Jessica's vitals and recorded them in the chart she held.

Jessica tried to hide her smile, without much success. "If I look better, will it get me out of here faster?" she asked, not wanting to lie around the hospital anymore. She wanted to go back to her own apartment and spend as much time with Jason as possible.

Bobbie looked at Jessica sympathetically. "Unfortunately, we're going to have to keep you here a couple of more days to make sure you are healing well and that you do not develop an infection."

Jessica was disappointed. "What if I promise to stay in bed?" she asked.

Bobbie only shook her head. "We need to monitor you here, I'm sorry," she said with sad smile. "I'll come back a little later to check on you," she added as she gathered up the chart and left the room.

Jessica was just getting settled when there was another knock and Alcazar came into the room. Jessica hoped he was not there to start another argument. "Hey dad," she said.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, not coming further into the room.

"Okay," she said. "Dad, you can come in, I know we disagreed earlier, but I'm glad that you came back. I was hoping to get out of here sooner, but Bobbie said that is not happening, so I could use the company," she said with a small smile, not even hinting at the fact that Jason had been by earlier to see her.

Alcazar nodded slightly but still remained where he was by the door. "I am sorry for what I said Jessica, I was angry and scared for your safety and jumped to conclusions," he said.

Jessica was puzzled by her father's behavior. "I'm sorry too," she said. "What's going on?"

Alcazar looked down a moment and cleared his throat. "Commissioner Scorpio and DA Lansing are here to see you," he said.

"Why?" she asked. "You didn't go to them with your ridiculous accusations, did you?"

"No, I did not. They were here when I got here. I think you should talk to them and tell them what you told me about what happened. Maybe they can catch this guy."

Jessica nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to them," she said. "But I did not see him, so I don't think it will make a difference."

Alcazar turned and opened the door to allow the two men inside. He had warned them earlier that if they upset Jessica, the interview would be cut short.

Carly walked into Jason's penthouse when she heard he was home. Jason turned on his way to the kitchen and sighed. "Don't you ever knock?" he asked, sighing and shaking his head.

"How long have you known me?" Carly asked, dismissing his question and crossing her arms in front of her as she stared at him.

"What?" he asked, wanting to get a beer from the fridge and relax. It had been a long day and he was drained.

"Don't give me that," Carly said, raising one eyebrow, a move Jason swore she practiced in front of the mirror. "Did you go to see Jessica? What happened?"

Jason shook his head and continued into the kitchen. He grabbed two beers, figuring he would need the other as long as Carly was going to insist on hounding him. He did his best to ignore her as she followed him back and forth from the kitchen.

"Jason, come on! You know you're going to have to tell me!" she exclaimed, exasperated.

"Alright already!" Jason said, dropping down onto the couch and putting the beer onto the table in front of him. "I did go to see Jessica."

Carly bounded over to the couch and plopped down next to him. "So, what happened?" she asked, wanting all the details, although she figured she would have to get most of that from Jessica, as Jason was never big on the details, especially if it concerned his private life.

"She looks pale and weak, but she said she was feeling better. She told me what happened in the park, but she did not see who attacked her. She also said that she and Alcazar got into an argument because he was insisting that Sonny and I had something to do with it and Jessica did not believe that," said Jason, hoping that would satisfy Carly. But when he looked over at her, he saw that it didn't.

"Did you tell her what you told me?" she asked. When Jason continued just to stare at her blankly, something she felt he did on purpose so he would not have to answer, and something that completely annoyed her, she rolled her eyes and sighed. "Did you tell her that you love her?" When he did not answer, she knew that he had.

Jessica was tired. She had described, more than once, what happened to her and she was tired of thinking about it. It seemed as if Mac and Ric didn't listen very well, since they kept asking the same questions over and over again. They seemed more concerned about whether or not she had seen her attacker and if she could describe him. She was grateful when her father had seen how tired she was and ended the questioning.

He left the hospital. His plan seemed to be working. She had not seen him and could not make an accurate composite of the attacker. He also knew that Alcazar was suspicious of Corinthos and Morgan, which was exactly what he wanted. All he had to do now was sit back for a while; let the tension build and then strike at the perfect opportunity.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_She was walking through the park. The night was clear but cold and she pulled her jacket closer to her. She smiled as she thought of the man she was falling in love with. It surprised her because she had never felt this way about anyone before and she was enjoying these feelings. As she continued on her way through the park, she felt herself being grabbed from behind. Her scream was cut off by a gloved hand over her mouth. She struggled, but stopped at the white-hot pain in her stomach. Her eyes widened at the sight of the knife dripping with her blood._

"NO!" she screamed, sitting straight up in bed. She was breathing fast and sweating.

"Hey, hey, its okay, you're okay," said a voice soothingly as strong arms wrapped around her.

Jessica settled into Jason's familiar embrace, glad that he was there. He must have come in while she was sleeping. She started to calm down as he held her, lightly stroking her hair. After a couple of minutes, she pulled back slightly and looked up at him. "I'm glad you're here," she said. Jessica knew that Jason was taking a risk by being there, but she felt better with him by her side.

Jason nodded and kissed her forehead. He had been trying to get some sleep, but was unable to. All he could think about was the fact that he could have lost her, so he got dressed and headed over to the hospital.

After Jessica had fallen back to sleep, Jason got up and headed to the door. Before leaving Jason stood by the door looking back at Jessica sleeping peacefully. He loved her more than he thought he would and he would do anything to keep her safe.

With one last look, he quietly walked out of the room and right into someone standing on the other side.

Lorenzo was surprised to see Jason Morgan coming out of his daughter's room. He stood in front of the younger man, his arms behind his back and looked Jason right in the eye.

"What were doing in my daughter's room?" he asked. He still had a feeling that Morgan and Corinthos were involved in some way and he wanted them no where near his daughter.

Jason stared back at Alcazar. He knew that whatever he said would not be believed, so instead, he turned and walked away, half expecting Alcazar to stop him, but he didn't.

Alcazar watched as Jason walked away without a word and shook his head. He made a note to himself to have guards posted out front when he was not there. He knew Jessica would hate it, but he was going to do what he should have done when she first arrived, no matter how much she fought him.

When Jessica woke up the next morning she was alone, and wondered if Jason being with her last night was only a dream. She knew it was risky for them to be together in public, especially here where her father could walk in at any moment. _I think Jason and I are going to have to talk about where this relationship is going and how we are going to confront my father._ She thought to herself, knowing that the time was quickly approaching.

A knock on her door brought her out of her thoughts and she watched as her father entered the room. "I just saw Dr. Quartermaine and she said you can go home today," he said, watching her face light up at the thought.

"That's great. I'll get dressed and we can go," she said, starting to get out of bed and almost forgetting about the stitches – again.

"Hold on," said Lorenzo as he gently eased her back on the bed. "It will take some time to finish the paper work. So you might as well relax. I already have a bag packed for you to change into," he added, indicating the bag he had placed on the chair.

Jessica nodded, settling herself back down. "Thanks," she said. She knew her father was worried and was trying to take care of her. _Maybe it won't be such a bad thing_, she thought to herself. It had been a long time since she had a parent to take care of her.

Alcazar moved the bag to the floor and sat in the chair beside her. He did not want to ask her the question that was on his mind, but he wanted to confirm his suspicions, not matter how much he wanted to be wrong.

"When I came by here last night, I ran into Jason Morgan as he was leaving this room," he began, keeping his eyes on Jessica's face. "What was he doing here?"

Jessica kept her face neutral. She shook her head. "I don't know. I never saw him," she said, looking at her hands. "I was sleeping and when I woke up this morning, there was no one here."

Alcazar nodded his head. "I will be posting guards outside this door until you are released and you will be coming home with me until this matter is solved."

"What? No," Jessica said. "I will not hide away. I have my life and I will live it my way."

"As long as someone is out there trying to kill you Jessica, you won't have a life to live!" Alcazar yelled. "I want you protected and that includes from Corinthos and anyone connected to him. You will also not be returning to your job at The Cellar."

"Wait a minute. You are NOT going to tell me how to live. And you will NOT tell me who I can associate with!" By this time, Jessica had sat up and swung her legs over the bed. Pulling her robe tighter, she stood up to face her father.

"Have you forgotten you were almost killed? I am your father and I will protect you, not anyone else and that includes Morgan!"

"What is that supposed to mean? What is your obsession with Jason and Sonny? Can't you understand that not everyone is out to hurt me because of you? And don't throw this attack in my face! Just because you have enemies, doesn't mean they are mine!"

"What is going on between you and Morgan?" Alcazar shouted.

The question threw her off for a second and she almost yelled out _"We are in love that is what is going on!"_ but she caught herself. "What are you talking about?" she asked, no backing down.

"I am talking about the fact that every time I turn around, Morgan is hovering around you and I do not like it!" he said,

"Well, that's just too damn bad, now isn't it?" Jessica was getting more and more angry.

Lorenzo was shocked at the way Jessica was talking to him. He could see she was angry, but that was not going to stop him. "Whatever is going on is over Jessica. I do not want you to see him."

"That is not your call to make! I am not a child and I can decide who I want to see or not!"

"You are nineteen Jessica. I am only doing what I see as right to keep you safe," said Lorenzo, becoming more and more frustrated at the way she was fighting him.

"I have spent years making my own decisions without you, so I think I know what I am doing. I am not going to give up my job and sop being friends with Carly and Jason just because you said so!" Jessica yelled. All of a sudden, she was hit with a wave of dizziness and swayed slightly.

Lorenzo saw this and caught hold of her arms before she could fall and helped her to settle back into bed. "I'll find Dr. Quartermaine," he said and left before she had a chance to protest.

As Lorenzo walked to the nurses station to have Dr. Quartermaine paged, he kicked himself for fighting with Jessica. This was the second argument they had had while she was in the hospital and he knew that when he had her moved in with him, they might get worse. He didn't know what to do.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jessica sat still for a minute until the dizziness passed. She wasn't sure how long her father would be gone, so she grabbed the phone and dialed a number. "Hey, it's me," she said when the person picked up. "I need you to come to the hospital. My father is insisting that I move in with him and I think he's suspicious of what is going on between me and Jason," she finished before hanging up the phone.

As soon as she set the receiver down, the door opened again and Dr. Quartermaine came in, followed by her father. "Your father said you got dizzy and almost fainted," said Monica as she came to Jessica's side and checked her pulse.

Jessica nodded. "Yeah, I was standing up and all of sudden got dizzy." She did not elaborate on the circumstances leading to this though.

Monica nodded as she then wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm. "Your blood pressure is up, but that is to be expected during a heated argument."

Jessica looked her father and knew he had explained what happened. "Yeah, well, my father thought he could run my life and I disagreed," she said, glaring at her father.

Monica smiled as she looked between the two. "I understand since I have been there with all three of my children, but Jessica, your body has been through a lot of trauma in the last few days and this dizzy spell is evidence that you have not healed completely. Now, professionally, I would recommend that you stay with your father during your recovery, but you also need to avoid stress, so you and your father are going to have to come to some sort of compromise concerning your recovery."

After Monica left, Lorenzo and Jessica looked at each other, not sure what to say.

"I would like you to stay with me, but I will not resist if you don't want to," said Lorenzo, he did not want to continue to argue about it.

"Thank you," Jessica said. "I think it would be better for us if I stayed at my place."

Lorenzo nodded. "Of course. Why don't you get dressed and I will drive you there?" he held up a hand when she opened her mouth. "Let me do at least this for you," he said. "I just want you to get home and settled okay and then I will leave."

Jessica nodded in agreement. After he left, Jessica picked up he phone. "Me again. Change of plans, meet me at my place in two hours, I'll explain later."

Carly hung up the phone and sighed. She had been on her way out of the penthouse when Jessica called and said that she was heading home and to meet her there later.

"Where are you going?" Sonny asked as he came down the stair and saw his wife standing by the door with her coat and cell phone in her hands.

"Umm . . nowhere right now," she said, putting her things down and sitting on the couch. "I was going to see Jessica at the hospital, but she just called and said she was on her way home, so I am going to meet her there later."

"I don't think that's a good idea." Sonny walked over to the wet bar and poured himself a glass of water, his back to his wife, so he missed her eye roll, but knew it was there.

"Of course you don't Sonny, but Jessica is a good friend and I want to see that she is alright."

Sonny was not about to get into an argument with her, so he nodded. "Take Jason with you. Ms. Alcazar's attacker is still out there and I do want you hurt," he said, sitting beside her.

Carly smiled to herself. _Perfect, now I don't have to come up with an excuse to drag Jason with me_.

"Carly, this isn't a good idea. Alcazar is already suspicious and this is just inviting trouble," said Jason as he and Carly stopped outside of Jessica's apartment door. Jessica had called Carly twenty minutes ago to tell her she was home and her father had left.

"Okay, listen Jason, you and Jessica love each other. You both need to talk about what is going on and where this is going. I know Alcazar is suspicious, Jessica mentioned it when she called early," she added at Jason's puzzled look. "But you two need to figure out what to do. And my being here is to throw off more suspicion. You are simply guarding me," she finished with a smile as she knocked on the door.

When Jessica opened the door, Jason took in her pale and tired looking face. He saw how this much this was taking its toll on her and all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms.

"Come on in," Jessica said, stepping back to let Carly and Jason in. Carly had explained why Jason was with her.

"How are you?" Jason asked quietly as he stepped closer to her.

"Better now that you are here," she said with a small smile. Neither noticed as Jason leaned in to kiss Jessica gently, that Carly left the room and headed into the kitchen.

After the kiss ended, Jessica led Jason to the couch. "We need to talk," she said.

Jason nodded and then listened as Jessica told him about her argument with her father earlier that day. "I'm afraid that he's going to figure it out and kill you," she said bluntly.

Jason shook his head. "That won't happen Jessica. Although I do not like Alcazar, I know that he loves you and would not do something that would hurt you so much, no matter how much he hates me."

Jessica was shocked at Jason's analysis of her father, but he was right. "I'm scared Jason. I don't want to lose you, but. . .with all this going on, it will be hard to be together."

Before Jason could say anything, Carly came back into the room. She had been listening in the kitchen the whole time. "I think I have the perfect plan."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Carly, your 'plans' tend to blow up in your face and drag innocent people into it."

"Funny Jason," said Carly. "Look, both Alcazar and Sonny will be on extra alert with this attacker still out there. Jason, you could be my guard whenever Jessica is at work, and Jessica, you can use work as a way to ditch whatever guard Lorenzo puts on you." Carly thought this was a great plan and was very proud of herself.

Jason was about to protest when Jessica spoke up. "I think that's a great idea."

"What?" Jason asked looking between the two women with wide smiled on their faces. "You have been hanging around Carly too long," he said to Jessica.

"Come on Jason, this is the only way we can be together. I don't want to give up on us because of this," Jessica said quietly.

"I don't either, but this could be risky Jessica."

"Jason, I love you and this is a risk I am willing to take, if you are."

Jason looked into Jessica emerald green eyes. He loved her so much and wanted to do anything to keep her safe and make her happy. He nodded his head, "Then so am I."

Carly's plan seemed to be working out nicely. Lorenzo did put a guard on Jessica, but she found it not to be as annoying as she thought as the guy kept a respectful distance. Jessica and Jason spent time together, when he was not working, at The Cellar.

A few nights later, Jessica and Jason were wrapped in each other's arms in her office at The Cellar. "Jason, can we go back to my place?" she asked.

"Jess, we can't, it's too risky," Jason said, but he wanted nothing more than to spend a quiet night with her like they used instead of at the club where it was noisy and there was always the possibility of someone coming into the office.

"We can go out the back door and be back here before anyone knows we left. I just want some quiet time with you."

Jason nodded and led her out the back door. They made it back to her apartment without anyone seeing them. Once the door was locked, Jason pulled Jessica into his arms and kissed her deeply. It felt great to have her in his arms like this.

Jessica pulled out of the kiss and took Jason's hand and walked to her bedroom.

"Where did you two go?" Carly demanded when Jessica came out of the office and back out into the club. Jason was still in the office and was going to go back out the back door and come back in through the front, making it look like he was checking things out.

"No where," said Jessica, not looking at Carly as she went behind the bar.

"Don't give me that," said Carly, following her. "I went there to check on you two a while ago and you were not in the office."

"Fine, we went back to my place for a little bit."

"What!? What is someone had seen you?"

"Since when are you worried about being caught doing something you're not supposed to?" Jessica threw at Carly, noting how the older woman's cheeks turned slightly pink.

"You got me there," she said. "So, how was it?"

"How was what?" Jessica asked innocently.

"You know what," said Carly.

"I am not going to talk about that," she said, becoming embarrassed. Her night with Jason had been magical. Neither had planned on it happening, but it did and Jason had been gentle with her.

"Fine, but I'll be here when you're ready for some real girl talk," Carly said over her shoulder as she walked away. Jessica just smiled and shook her head as she continued to wipe down the counter and check on the supplies.

Later that night, once Jessica had closed up the club, Jason came back after bringing Carly home. "What are you doing here?" she asked him.

"I wanted to make sure you got home okay," he said, kissing her.

"I already have an escort," she said, indicating her own guard.

Jason shook his head. "I sent him away," he said.

"How?"

"I called, pretending to be another of Alcazar's men and told him he was not needed anymore."

Jessica was impressed. "So, I guess I get you," she said with a smile.

Jason helped her to finish closing up and they started on their way home. As they were walking through the docks, Jessica stopped a moment to look out at the water. "You know Jason, no matter what happens, I am glad that I met you. You have made my life worthwhile."

Jason wrapped his arms around her and turned her to face him. "Before meeting you Jessica, I never knew I could love like this. You have made me feel things I was told I would never feel again."

Jessica tilted her head up to meet his lips. It got old, kissing Jason. He was always gentle with her and she could feel his love radiating from him.

Alcazar was fuming. The guard he had assigned to Jessica showed up saying that the replacement was going to take Jessica home. Alcazar had been confused, as he had not assigned a replacement that night. Alcazar had then stalked off, promising punishment later, to find Jessica. As he approached the stairs from the left side of the docks, he stopped in his tracks, not believing what he was seeing. . . .

After Jason had left the penthouse, Sonny had realized that he had forgotten to give Jason some papers he would need. He had tried calling, but for some reason, Jason's cell phone was either off or he was not answering. Sonny knew that Jason stopped by the warehouse every night before turning in for the night and decided to take a walk to the warehouse himself.

As he approached the stairs from the right side of the docks, he stopped in his tracks, not believing what he was seeing. . .

Jessica and Jason were still standing in the middle of the two men, unaware they were being watched as they continued to kiss under the moonlight.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sonny walked into the penthouse slamming the door behind him and startling Carly who was sitting on the couch going over some paper work for the club. Before she could ask what was going on, there was a knock on the door and Max stuck his head in.

"Mr. Alcazar is here boss and he's insisting on talking to you."

Sonny sighed. After what he had just witnessed he was not in the mood to deal with Alcazar. As he prepared to tell Max to send him away, Alcazar pushed past Max and into the penthouse.

"Listen Corinthos," said Alcazar as he barged into the room. Carly stood beside Sonny, curious as to what was going on.

"What do you want Alcazar?" Sonny asked, annoyed that this man burst into his home uninvited.

"I want you to keep Morgan away from my daughter!" Lorenzo practically yelled.

Sonny's head snapped up. _Had Alcazar also been on the docks? Had he seen what Sonny saw?_ "What are you talking about?" Sonny asked, not wanting to jump to conclusions and give any information away.

Carly glanced between the two men, feeling the tension coming from both men. Carly wasn't sure what happened, or how Alcazar had found out about Jessica and Jason, but she had to know what Sonny and Lorenzo knew and how she was going to get that information to Jessica and Jason before anything bad happened.

"I am talking about your watch dog being all over my daughter tonight. Now, I have no idea how long this has been going on, but I am telling you this now, it is going to end. You either keep a leash on him, or I will take care of it myself!" Alcazar threatened. He had never felt this angry before and he was not looking forward to confronting Jessica about this. As he was about to make more threats, the front door opened and Alcazar turned around and saw the object of his fury walk in and close the door. As he looked at Jason, remembering how he had his arms wrapped around Jessica and how he was kissing her, he snapped. Without warning or hesitation, Lorenzo took two quick steps toward Jason and shoved him into the door putting his arm into Jason's throat. "You ever touch my daughter again, I will kill you," Lorenzo growled in a low, ferocious voice.

Jason struggled at first until Lorenzo said Jessica's name, then he stopped and looked over Lorenzo's shoulder at Carly. Her eyes were wide and she nodded her head slightly, indicating that Lorenzo knew. Then Jason's gaze went to Sonny and he saw fire and danger there.

"Alcazar! Let him go," said Sonny in a loud voice. He knew Max was on the other side, but would be unable to open the door with Jason and Alcazar against it. "Give Jason a chance to defend himself," he said, wanting to hear it from Jason's mouth.

Grudgingly, Alcazar backed off of Jason but still glared at him. Jason moved away from the door and fixed his jacket. "What the hell is going on?" he asked, looking to Sonny and Carly.

"I'll tell you. . ." Lorenzo said as he took a step toward Jason, but Carly jumped in between the two.

"Enough!" she said. "Look, why don't we all discuss this like rational adults." Carly looked between the two men before taking a deep breath. She turned to Jason. "Alcazar here claims he saw you and Jessica together tonight." She held up her hand to Lorenzo when he started to speak.

Jason knew he couldn't lie, the truth was already out there and they were all waiting for his confirmation. "I was walking Jessica home from the club," he stated simply, walking away from Carly and further into the room. He noticed Sonny's stare and knew that he would have to battle not just Alcazar, but his mentor and best friend as well.

"I want to know how long this has been going on," said Lorenzo, turning so he could keep his eyes on Jason. "I want to know how long you have been taking advantage of my daughter and using her to get to me."

"That is not the way it is happening!" Jason shouted, outraged at Alcazar's accusation. "I would NEVER use Jessica!" He was about to shout more, but a warning look from Carly stopped him.

"How can I believe that?" Alcazar shouted. "How do I know you weren't the one to attack her in the park?" Lorenzo could feel his blood boiling in his veins. If he indeed was looking at his daughter's attacker, there would be no stopping him from killing the man standing in front of him.

Carly's mouth hung open as she listened to Lorenzo accuse Jason of stabbing Jessica. Carly looked at Sonny, annoyed that he was just standing there, quietly watching everything unfold.

Jason was shocked. He would never hurt Jessica, never even consider it. He looked at Alcazar, could see the anger in the other man's eyes. Normally, he would have just shut down and not responded, but he was beyond angry at being accused of hurting the woman he loved more than anything. "I would NEVER hurt the woman I love!" Jason yelled. The words were out of his mouth before he realized it.

The room was quiet at Jason's proclamation. Carly couldn't believe Jason had revealed how he felt, especially in front of Alcazar. Sonny stared at Jason in complete shock. Lorenzo was the first to recover. In a low and angry voice he said, "You ever go near my daughter again, so help me I will kill you myself." Then he turned, stalked past Carly and walked out of the penthouse.

It has been a great night. Jessica had just finished a shower after a long night at the club and was just settling down with a mug of hot chocolate before heading to bed. She was thinking about being with Jason earlier that evening and she smiled to herself. She remembered how Jason was gentle with her has he laid her on the bed and made sure she was comfortable with him before they did anything. Just as she was starting to drift off to sleep, there was a banging on the front door. _Who could that be at this time of night?_ She wondered and was afraid her attacker was back.

"Jessica, open the door!" she heard her father's voice yell. Jessica quickly got off the couch and crossed the room to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open. The look of anger on his face caused Jessica to back away from him instinctively. She had never seen her father this angry, although she had heard of it. She had no idea what had happened, but knew it was not good.

Alcazar slammed the door shut and turned to look at his daughter, he saw the frightened and weary look in her eyes. "I am going to ask you this once and I want the truth," he said in a hard, low voice.

Jessica swallowed her eyes wide and nodded. She had a feeling that if she tried to lie, it would not be good.

Lorenzo took a deep breath. "How long have you been seeing Jason Morgan?" he asked.

Jessica was shocked. How had he found out? She wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't sure what he knew or if he was just guessing. She was hoping to stall as she thought of what to say.

"Before you answer, don't bother trying to come up with a lie. I saw the two of you tonight on the docks. And when I confronted Morgan, he claimed to be in love with you."

It took Jessica a moment to process all that her father had just said to her. "It's true. Jason and I have been seeing each other for months now, since before the attack," she added, not wanting him to jump to conclusions and think that Jason was involved. "We knew there were risks when we started to realize our feelings for each other, but I don't care about the risks. I love Jason, and he loves me and that's all that matters," Jessica said with more confidence than she felt. She had a feeling that this was not going to go over too well with her father. And she was right.

"LOVE? You are just nineteen years old, you have no idea what love is!" Lorenzo yelled at her. "Jason is the right-hand man of my enemy and you think he's in love with you? Open your eyes Jessica! He's just using you to get to me! What happened was Sonny ordered Jason to get close to you in order to get information on me, to destroy me! Jason is Sonny's watch dog Jessica and he does not think for himself! He does what Sonny tells him too!"

"No, no! That's not true! Jason loves me and he would never hurt me or use me!" Jessica yelled, not wanting to believe what her father was saying. She knew Jason. Yes, he was loyal to Sonny, but he would never do what her father was claiming.

"You don't think he would hurt you? Sonny is probably the one that set up your attack and I am sure he had Morgan carry out his orders!" Lorenzo yelled back. _Why couldn't she just understand that Morgan was bad news and not the man for her?_

"Don't even say that! Sonny had nothing to do with what happened to me and Jason would NEVER hurt me!"

"Enough Jessica!" Lorenzo shouted. He had enough of arguing back and forth with her. Now was the time to be her father and put his foot down. "Whatever you and Morgan claim to have for each other is OVER! You will never see him again. Do you understand?"

Jessica stared at her father in shock. She was not going to let him do this to her. "No. I will continue to see Jason as much as I want," she said in a low voice.

"I ever see you with him again or hear of the two of you sneaking around, I will kill him myself." Without another word or a look at his daughter, Lorenzo turned and walked out the door. Once the door was closed, he turned to the new guard he had placed there. "She does not leave this apartment tonight. I will call in the morning with further instructions."

Jason sat on the couch in Sonny's penthouse not sure what to do now. He knew that Alcazar would go to Jessica next and confront her with the same information. He looked up when Sonny cleared his throat.

"You know this cannot go on Jason," he said. Sonny was looking at the floor, at the wall, anywhere but into the eyes of his best friend. He knew that if he did he would see the love Jason had for this girl and the worry he was now feeling. "Now that Alcazar knows, there will be problems and I do not want to deal with a war right now."

Jason understood what Sonny was saying. Now that Alcazar knew the truth, and not just that Jason and Jessica had been seeing each other, but that they were in love, there was no way they would be able to see each other. Plus, Alcazar was sure Jason was behind the attack, he would probably have guards on her at all times now. "I understand Sonny," he said, knowing there was no use in fighting him. He loved Jessica and he knew the best way to keep her safe was to stay away from her, but it wasn't going to be easy.

"Wait a minute," said Carly, who had been watching her husband and Jason. "Jason, you're going to leave Jessica just because her father found out about the two of you? I can't believe it!"

"Carly, stay out of it," said Sonny, already knowing that Carly must have known all along. He had seen her nod to Jason when he looked at her earlier. "Jason knows what he has to do."

Carly was speechless, almost. "You are unbelievable Jason Morgan," she said, her voice getting louder. "I have seen you with Jessica and I know how in love you are with her. You can't just give that up!"

Jason looked at Carly. He knew she was right, but he also knew that this was the right decision, no matter how much it was going to hurt. "I do love Jessica Carly, but I will not risk her safety. I love her enough to leave her if it means keeping her alive," said Jason, turning away from Carly's angry glare. Without another word to either Sonny or Carly, Jason left the penthouse and walked across the hall to his own penthouse. It was going to be a long, sleepless night and he would rather get through it without Carly being all over him.

Jessica was shaking she was so angry. _This can't be happening_, she thought to herself as she continued to stand in the middle of her livingroom, staring at the door her father just walked out of. Her father had just threatened to kill Jason. She had always been afraid of something like this happening, but now that it did, she couldn't believe it. Running into her bedroom, Jessica threw on a sweatshirt over her sweat pants and tank top. She then pulled on sneakers and grabbed her keys as she headed toward the door. Opening the door, Jessica was about to head into the hallway when she practically ran right into a solid figure blocking the door.

"I am sorry miss, but I have strict orders not to let you out of the apartment tonight," said the guard. He saw the flash of anger in her eyes, but knew his boss's anger would be far worse if he disobeyed an order.

Jessica angrily slammed the door in the guard's face. She couldn't believe this, she was a prisoner in her own home! _Well, I guess he doesn't know me as well as he thinks_, Jessica thought to herself as she went to the window in her bedroom. Her apartment was on the third floor and there was a low roof jutting out over the second floor balcony. She knew that if she climbed out of her bedroom window, she could drop onto the balcony, climb down the trellis that clung to the side of the wall and not be seen by anyone.

Jessica made it to the ground quickly. She wasn't sure where to go though. She wanted to go to Jason, but knew someone would see her and call her father. Instead, she pulled out her cell phone.

The ringing off his phone pulled Jason's thoughts from the mess he was currently in and back to the present. He pulled the phone from his jeans pocket and looked at the screen. JESSICA was flashing back at him. "Jessica? What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, worried she was hurt.

"I'm fine, but I need to see you," she said. She had made it to the park without anyone seeing her or following her. She knew that if a guard were following her, her father would already be there.

"Jessica, I don't think that's a good idea," Jason said. He wanted to do nothing more than go to her, but he knew that it was too risky now.

"Please Jason, I'm in the park by the gazebo."

"Jessica, you shouldn't be out. Is there a guard with you?" he prayed that she said yes, but he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"No, I sneaked out."

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes," he said as he grabbed his jacket from the back of his desk chair. "Don't move from that spot and call me if there's any trouble."

Jason arrived at the park five minutes later and Jessica ran to him. She had been so worried that her father had already done something to him. "Jason, I was so worried. . . " she began, but Jason did not give her a chance to finish. He pulled away from her and took a step back. Jessica was puzzled over his reaction.

"We can't do this anymore Jessica," he said, not looking into her eyes. He knew that if he did, he would be able to say what he had to say to her.

"What are you talking about Jason? I know my father knows about us and I had to sneak out because he put a guard on my door and told him not to let me out, but we can still be together," she said.

Jason shook his head. "No Jessica, we can't be together, not anymore." The statement was simple and to the point, and it hurt to say more than he ever imagined it would.

"I love you Jason, please, don't do this," Jessica pleaded. She didn't want to lose him; she refused to accept that.

Jason finally looked at Jessica and his heart broke at the hurt he saw there. He never wanted to hurt her, but he knew he had to do this in order to keep her safe. "I will never stop loving you Jessica, but we cannot continue to be together, it is too dangerous for you to be with me. You are already in danger from this attacker and being with me will only add to that."

"I don't believe you Jason. I have never felt safer than I am when I am with you. Please, don't leave me."

He stood in the shadow, just out of sight of the couple. He listened to everything they were saying. If he cared, it would have been heart breaking. He smiled as he watched the tears slide down her cheeks, as Jason took out his phone, dialed a number and left. In another minute, one of Alcazar's guards showed up and escorted Jessica from the park. This was working out better than he thought it would have.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Everything was working out exactly like he wanted. Alcazar knew about Jessica and Jason's relationship now, as did Corinthos. He had just witnessed Jason breaking up with Jessica, but he could tell that there was still love between them and he planned on using that to his advantage. He was going to have to lay low a couple of more days before taking the next step. Jessica was going to be angry at her father and that would make her rebel against his authority, making it easier to get to her.

He looked through the two large files he had on the Alcazar and Corinthos crime families. He knew the contents by heart and couldn't wait for the day when the two families destroyed each other, making his job easier and Port Charles safer.

Jessica sat curled up in the corner of the couch. She still couldn't believe that Jason had broken up with her. He said he couldn't be with her; that it would be too dangerous for them to be together and he did not want to be the cause of her getting hurt. But she was hurt. Once the guard had escorted her back to her apartment, she had curled up on the couch and not moved. Jason was her life and he had just walked out of it.

The guard was still trying to figure out how Ms. Alcazar had gotten out of the apartment and he was not looking forward to calling the boss, but he knew he had to. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Where is she now?" Alcazar said into the phone as he grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

"She's in the apartment now sir, I am looking at her lying on the couch. I'm not sure how she got out sir, but I found her at the park, near the gazebo."

"Was she alone?" he asked. He would keep his word and see Jason dead before he saw him with his daughter again.

"She was sir," he said. He had seen a change in Ms. Alcazar when he arrived. He expected her to fight him, yell and scream, but she walked with him quietly back to her apartment and had not moved from the couch since they walked in. He was now in the kitchen, not wanting to take a chance that she would slip away again.

"I will be there in five minutes, make sure she doesn't disappear again," said Alcazar, he then disconnected the call as he headed toward Jessica's apartment and possibly another fight.

"Well, what happened?" Carly asked as she walked into Jason's living room, without knocking. _Has she ever knocked?_ Jason wondered as he looked at her. He did not want to talk about what happened with Jessica, but he also knew that Carly would not go away easily.

"I told her it was over," he said simply, he was not one to beat around the bush. He remembered the hurt look in her eyes and it broke his heart all over again. When the guard had arrived to take her home, she did not fight him, but had walked with her head down and tears still in her eyes.

"What?" Carly exclaimed; that was the last thing she thought Jason would say. "Jason, you need to tell her that you made a mistake, that you are still in love with her," Carly started to rant.

Jason sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, he was starting to get a headache and he just wanted Carly to leave him in peace. "I do love her Carly, but this is the best for her. I don't want to see her hurt."

"You don't want to see her hurt? Jason, what do you think you did to her when broke up with her? I'm sure she wasn't jumping for joy over it," Carly said, arms waving. She received a glare from Jason after that last part. "Look, you may think this is the best thing for her, but let me tell you, it's not. Jessica loves you deeply Jason, I don't know if you realize that. You are the first man she has ever loved in this way." Carly shook her head as she walked over and sat beside her best friend. "Jason, Jessica may be an independent woman, and she may not always need you to run to her rescue, but she needs your love and I am sure that her heart is broken tonight. You may think that you're protecting her by not being with her, but she is headstrong and determined and I feel that she will get into more trouble without you in her life, she'll take more risks – like sneaking out tonight to see you – without your love there to help her."

Jason knew Carly was right, he just didn't know what to do about it.

Alcazar walked into Jessica's apartment and saw her curled up in a ball on the couch. According to the guard, who had returned to his post at the door, she had not moved since he brought her back. Alcazar walked over and sat on the couch. "Jessica, Jessica, please, look at me," he said, worried about the way she was acting.

"Go away," she said in a whisper. She did not want to see her father right now. He was the reason Jason left her.

"Jessica, I cannot have you sneaking out like you did tonight, it's too dangerous."

Jessica sat up, anger boiling through her. "Being your _daughter_ is too dangerous!" she yelled, standing up. She was tired of being told what was good for her or how she had to be kept safe. "What are you going to do dad, lock me in a tower and hope I never get hurt? It doesn't work that way! I have my life to live and I wish you would respect that! No matter where I am or who I am with, I will always be in danger because I have the misfortune of being YOUR daughter! Whoever is after me, whoever has made me a target is not because of the man I am in love with but because of the man who gave me _life_! YOU brought me into this life and it is YOUR fault if I'm in danger!" Jessica could see the hurt in her father's eyes, but she didn't care.

Alcazar was speechless. Jessica had just accused him of putting her in danger just by giving her life. He knew she was right, but it was a harsh reality when thrown in his face by his own daughter.

"Now I really understand why mom didn't want you to know about me," Jessica said, not at all feeling sorry for what she was saying. She was angry and tired of having her life controlled by a man who claimed to want to protect her, but who was really keeping her prisoner. Without another word, she turned and headed into her bedroom, slamming the door.

Three days had passed since he witnessed the breakup of Jessica Alcazar and Jason Morgan. Now was the time. He picked up the phone and dialed the number of a local florist. "Yes, I would like to order two dozen long stemmed roses to be delivered to Jessica Alcazar," as he rattled off the address, he added, "Please make sure they arrive by 5pm this evening and that the man at the door sees them." He smiled to himself after he finished placing the order and hung up the phone. Now the real fun was going to begin.

The guard watched as the florist delivery man left. Ms. Alcazar was out shopping, with another guard following her. He was glad he wasn't with her, he was sure she was driving the other man crazy right now. Ever since her fight with the boss last night, an argument he could hear loud and clear through the door, all the guards new to keep on their toes when on duty with her.

Looking at the large vase of red roses in his hands, the guard let himself into the living room and called his boss.

_Dear Jessica,_

_I know that you are hurting right now and I am deeply sorry for that. I love you, nothing will change that and soon enough we will be together again. Please don't forget our love or the night we spent together. Remembering the softness of your skin and the taste of you on my lips is what has kept me going these last few days. Please know that I am working on a way for us to be together always, I will not let anyone stand in our way._

_I will find ways to get in touch with you and let you know when it is time. Just remember that I love you and always will._

_Jason_

Alcazar read the words on the note over and over again, his anger building each time. After the third time, he picked up the vase and hurled it against the wall, watching as the glass shattered into a thousand pieces and water and roses spread over the floor.

The door opened just then and Jessica came in with a haggard looking guard behind her. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked her father. He was clutching a piece of paper in his hands and had a dangerous look in his eyes. She looked at the opposite wall and saw the destroyed vase and flowers.

"I warned you Jessica, I said that if Morgan continued to see you, I would kill him," he said, taking in the surprised and angry look on her face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, not backing down, not anymore. "I haven't seen Jason in days, not since he broke up with me because of you," she shouted at him.

"Then I hope you remember that time, because it is the last you will see of him." Alcazar then stormed out of the apartment.

Jessica stared at the closed door, not sure what was going on. She turned to the guard that had been at her door. "What is he talking about?" she demanded.

"A vase of roses arrived for you a little while ago with a note from Morgan," he simply stated.

Jessica spun to grab the phone, but was stopped by the guard who had been with her all day. "I am sorry miss, but I cannot allow you to warn Morgan," he said.

"You think so, huh?" she said. Jessica was angry and when she was angry she was not going to let anyone stand in her way. She started to turn away from the phone. Without warning, Jessica kicked the guard in the chest, sending him crashing into the low coffee table. She grabbed his gun and headed to the door when it opened. The other guard was met with a gun in his face. "I suggest you get out of my way," she said in a low dangerous voice. "And I wouldn't call my father, because if I find out he knew I was coming, he is not the one you would have to worry about."

The man backed off as Jessica ran out the door, cell phone to her ear. "Carly, it's me. There's trouble, where's Jason? I think my father is going to try to kill him."


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

He had been waiting for so long and now it was all falling into place. He followed, without being seen, as Alcazar headed toward the docks looking for Jason. He was glad that he had followed them the night they left The Cellar together and had gone back to Jessica's place. Although he had not been in the apartment with them, he had stayed hidden in the shadows of the building until they came out again. In the note, he had assumed what had happened, and it had the desired effect.

He wanted to be there when Alcazar killed Jason, he wanted to see the emotionless, cold-blooded killer go down and stay down. Hiding around the corner from the docks, he watched as Alcazar looked around, waiting for Morgan.

"Carly, where's Jason?" Jessica yelled into the phone as she ran through the park and past Kelly's. She had to find him before her father did.

"I don't know Jessica, I haven't seen him all day," said Carly, worry evident in her voice. "Why would Alcazar be going to kill Jason? I know for a fact that he has not been around you. He's made sure to keep himself busy with work."

"I don't know what happened. All I know is that when I got home my father was there, there was a smashed vase of roses and a note, apparently from Jason. He said that he was going to keep his word and kill Jason," Jessica said as she headed toward the docks. "Look, call Jason and tell him to stay away from the docks, I see my father," she said, and then she hung up the phone without waiting for Carly's reply.

"Dad, wait," said Jessica as she approached her father.

Alcazar spun around and saw Jessica, "Where are the guards, you shouldn't be here," he said, not wanting to do this in front of her.

"Yes, I should be here. I won't let you do this," she said, stepping closer to him. "I have followed your _orders_ and I have not seen Jason. Those flowers and whatever the note said did not come from Jason. He broke up with me the night you found out and we have not seen each other or spoken to each other since."

Alcazar looked at his daughter. He wanted to believe her, but he couldn't. He remembered all the lies she told and the sneaking around she had done to be with Morgan. He remembered seeing them together, right here, wrapped in each other's arms. He had seen the look in their eyes and had heard the words they said to each other. He also remembered the words written in the note and couldn't get them out of his head. "If you have not spoken to or seen each other, explain this," he said in a low voice as he thrust the note at her.

Jessica took the paper from him and opened it, trying to keep her hands from shaking. She read through the letter, knowing that Jason would not have written this. He would never have put his feelings onto paper like this to be delivered by a stranger. But she understood her father's anger. The note implied that she and Jason were making plans to run away together. It also alluded to the night they spent together. She wasn't sure how whoever had written this had known, but she knew that it did not look good.

"Jason did not write this," she said, handing the paper back to her father and hoped she could convince him it was the truth.

"So, you're telling me that everything in here is a lie?" he asked. He noticed that Jessica did not respond right away. "Are you and Jason planning on running away together?"

Jessica looked her father in the eyes. "No," she said.

"Okay," Alcazar looked down and bit his lips a moment before asking the next question. He was afraid he already knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from Jessica. "Did you and Jason sleep together?"

Jessica continued to look at her father. She wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but knew that would not work. "Yes," she said.

Alcazar was surprised that she had actually answered the question. He shook his head as he looked at the daughter he barely knew. "I will end this my way," he said.

Jason was heading toward the docks when his phone rang. He pulled it out and flipped it open. "Yea," he said.

"Jason, thank God I found you," said Carly on the other end.

"What's the matter Carly?" he asked, hearing the urgency in her voice. "Are the boys okay?"

"The boys are fine. It's Jessica." Before Jason could ask what was wrong, Carly launched into what Jessica had told her earlier. "Just get back to the penthouse without running into Alcazar," she pleaded with him.

"Where did Jessica say she was Carly?" Jason demanded. He was not going to run and hide. He was not afraid of Alcazar, but he was afraid of losing Jessica to whoever was after her.

"Jason. . . " Carly did not want to tell him, but she knew he wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Carly, where is she?"

"Fine. She's on the docks with Alcazar," she said, rolling her eyes when the line disconnected.

Jason ran the rest of the way to the docks and stopped when he heard loud voices.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"I will NOT let you kill Jason!" Jessica shouted, unaware that both Jason and her unknown attacker were nearby, listening. "Jason has done nothing wrong! He cares about me and has tried to protect me. He loves me for who I am and I love him for who he is and I won't let you destroy it!" She continued to shout at her father.

"I am not going to argue this with you Jessica. I will not allow you to see Morgan or have anything to do with his life!" Alcazar shouted back, knowing he was losing control.

Jason was about to make his presence known and stop the argument when he saw a flash of silver from the shadows on the other side of Jessica. He looked harder and saw a figure step slightly from the shadows, pointing a gun right at Jessica. Not considering the consequences, Jason jumped over the railing, bringing Jessica to the ground as the shot rang out. He heard Alcazar shouting and more gunfire, but he didn't move, not until he knew Jessica was okay.

Jason started to move, but felt a sharp pain pierce through his side at the movement. He put his hand to his side and when he moved it, it was coated in blood.

The shooting stopped and Jessica moved from where Jason threw her. She looked around. She and Jason were alone at the moment. "Jason? Jason what happened?" she asked. Getting no response, Jessica turned and saw Jason leaning against the low wall, his hand holding his side. He looked pale and his breathing was labored. "Jason!" Jessica dropped to her knees next to him. "We have to get you to the hospital," she said as she pulled off her jacked and used it to apply pressure to the wound.

Jason yelled out in pain and Jessica almost jumped. With difficulty, Jason said, "Make sure. . . .to. . . press hard. . . stop the. . . bleeding." It was getting hard for him to focus; the blackness was starting to close in on him. He did not want to lose consciousness, not until he knew Jessica was safe. "Run. . . Jess. . . get away from. . . here."

"No, no I'm not leaving you Jason," said Jessica.

Jessica was so focused on keeping Jason awake; she did not hear the footsteps come up behind her. A hand came in front of her face and a sweet smelling cloth was placed over her nose and mouth. Jessica struggled, trying to break free, and then everything went dark.

Carly and Sonny arrived at the docks just as Jason was being loaded into the ambulance. Carly ran over and saw Alcazar. "What the hell did you do?" she shouted at him.

Alcazar didn't hear Carly at first. He watched as Jason was loaded onto the ambulance and the doors were closed. It took Carly hitting him in the chest to get his attention. "What?" he asked.

"What! I can't believe that you shot him!" she said as Sonny caught up to her.

"I did not shoot Morgan," he said emotionlessly.

"Then what are you doing here?" Sonny asked, trying to get the image of Jason's pale face out of his head. He wanted to get to the hospital, but he also wanted answers.

"I was here with Jessica."

"And she said that you were on your way to kill Jason," Carly shouted at him. Then she looked around. "Wait. Where's Jessica?" she asked.

"Yes, I did come here to kill Morgan. I said that I would if he tried to contact my daughter. Jessica followed me here and we argued. Out of nowhere, Morgan threw himself at Jessica, taking a bullet that was meant for her. I didn't even see the guy. I went to find him and when I got back here, Morgan was lying there," he pointed to the low wall Jason had been leaning against, unconscious. "Jessica was gone and so was the shooter."

Jessica slowly opened her eyes, trying to remember what happened. She sat up and looked around, not recognizing her surroundings. _Where am I?_ she asked herself, taking in the dark walls and small cot she was laying on. Slowly sitting up, Jessica closed her eyes at the pounding in her head. Tentatively she opened her eyes again and let them get adjusted to the dark. Once they did, Jessica saw she was in a small room. She was sitting on a narrow cot, the only furniture in the room besides a straight back chair in the corner. She located the door, but was pretty sure it would be locked. Jessica sighed as she shifted on the bed and leaned back against the wall behind her.

She let her mind wander over the events of the evening, hoping that Jason was okay. She needed to believe that someone got help and that he was not still lying on the docks, bleeding. Jessica willed herself to not cry, it was going to help her. She needed to be strong so she could figure out what was going on and how she was going to get out of here.

The ambulance pulled up to the doors of General Hospital's Emergency Room and Monica and Bobbie ran out to meet the ambulance.

"What do you have?" Monica called out as the doors were opened and the paramedics started to pull out the gurney.

"Male, late twenties, gun shot wound to the left side. It passed clean through, but he lost consciousness before we got there," said the female paramedic.

Monica nodded and looked at the man and froze. "Oh my. . . Jason," she said in a strained voice.

"What is taking them so long?" Carly asked as she paced back and forth in the waiting area of the emergency room.

"Carly, relax, as soon as they know something, someone will come out and talk to us," said Sonny, noting how worried Carly was. Jason was her best friend, the one other person, besides Sonny, who knew the real Carly, the one she kept hidden from most everyone else. Under Carly's tough and catty exterior was a lost little girl who wanted to be loved.

"I know Jason is going to be okay. He always is," said Carly as she finally sat beside her husband and he put his arm around her. "I know he'll get through this." She knew she was trying to convince herself of this. "But I'm also worried about Jessica, Sonny. I know you don't like her because of who her father is, but someone grabbed her and Jason is here because he took a bullet for her. He loves her Sonny."

Sonny nodded. He agreed with Carly and he saw what not being with Jessica was doing to his friend. Jason was not open about his feelings, but Sonny could see how much Jason cared about this girl. "You're right Carly. As soon as Jason is okay, I am going to make sure we find Jessica."

Carly looked at Sonny, surprised that he agreed to look for Jessica and that he said she was right. She was about to comment on it when she saw Alcazar out of the corner of her eye. She got up and walked over to him. "I'm sorry about what happened Lorenzo," she said quietly, putting her hand on his arm.

Alcazar looked down at the woman who would always have his heart. "Thank you. I have men out looking for my daughter. I wanted to come and see how Morgan was," he said. At Carly's puzzled look, he added, "Jessica would have my head if I don't tell her what happened when I find her."

Carly smiled sadly. She knew in that moment that Alcazar was trying to make peace with the relationship between his daughter and Jason.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Monica walked out of the OR, knowing Sonny and Carly would be waiting for news of Jason. It had been hard to see her son like that; pale, weak, vulnerable. She was glad that the bullet had not done a lot of major damage to his internal organs. The bullet had passed straight through and after getting the bleeding stopped; they were able to sew him up without any complications. She had just finished setting up his IV for an antibiotic to avoid infection, and was pulling her scrubs off as Carly and Sonny approached her.

"Monica how is he?" asked Carly, worried there was something wrong.

"He's going to be fine," she said, noting the worry on the other woman's face. "The bullet passed through without causing too much damage. We were able to stop the bleeding and I have him on an antibiotic in case of infection," she said.

"How long will he be here?" asked Sonny.

"I would prefer he stay here until completely healed, but I know Jason and as soon as he can move he will want out of here. Please, if you are his friends, convince him to stay," she said, and then turned and headed to the nurses station to write up further orders.

She wasn't sure how long she had been there. There were no windows and no clocks, and no one had come to the room since she woke up. She knew Jason and her father were looking for her and she was determined to be strong, not to give in to the fear this person, whoever he was, wanted her to do. He probably figured that by leaving her in this dark room, she would break, but she was going to prove him wrong.

It's true that Jessica had grown up sheltered from her father's way of life, from the dangers of his work, but that did not mean that she was ignorant to what happened in the underworld life. Jessica had learned to protect herself, by convincing the various bodyguards to teach her self-defense and how to handle a gun. Over the years Jessica had become an expert in various forms of self-defense techniques and was a good shot that rarely ever missed her target. Jessica had never divulged this to her father, and had sworn all the guards she had worked with to secrecy. She had also never told Jason, not sure what his reaction would be. She knew he was good at what he did and wasn't sure what his feelings would be.

Jessica was thinking about Jason and all that he meant to her. She remembered the first time she met him, when they had literally bumped into each other on the docks. She remembered the way he looked at her and the jolt of electricity when he touched her. She remembered the way he held a little longer than he needed to. Jessica was settling into her memories, knowing they would help to pass the time when she heard a noise at the door.

Jumping off the bed, Jessica faced the door, ready to strike out. The door opened quickly and the light from the hall blinded her. She put her hands up to block the bright light and was able to make out the silhouette of a figure standing in the door.

"I see you're finally awake," said the voice. Jessica was sure she had heard that voice before, but she couldn't place from where. She watched as he came into the room and closed the door, shutting out the bright light. Jessica lowered her arms, still weary, as she let her eyes readjust to the darkness of the room. The figure walked to a corner and flipped on a small lamp that Jessica had not even realized was there. She saw that the man was dressed all in black, including a ski mask that covered his face.

"Who are you?" she asked. With the light now on, she was able to see a little better and made sure to keep some distance between herself and her captor.

"Just someone looking for a little justice," he said with a smile in his voice. He looked the girl up and down and saw what had captivated Morgan's attention. She defiantly had a body on her and momentarily entertained the thought of seeing for himself what Morgan was so interested in.

"Justice? How are you going to get justice by kidnapping me?" she asked. She didn't like the way he was looking at her and relaxed her body a bit, to prepare for a fight if she had to.

"Believe me, my dear, my plan to finally rid Port Charles of mob activity is working out very nicely."

Jessica didn't know what he was talking about, but she knew it wasn't good. "And what plan is that?" she asked, hoping to draw it out of him.

"Nice try sweetie, but it won't work. I will reveal my plan only when all the players have been taken care of." With that, he turned and walked back out the door. Jessica heard the lock click in place and knew that she was going to be spending some more time alone that night.

"We need to find Jessica," said Jason, wincing in pain as he sat up straighter in the hospital bed. Ever since he woke up and heard what had happened, he had wanted to leave and start looking for her, but Carly and Sonny refused to help him.

"Jason, you have to stay here and heal first," said Sonny, knowing he was fighting a losing battle with his friend. He could see how much Jason loved this girl, it was plainly there in his eyes and he didn't know how he had missed it before.

"Sonny, Jessica is out there with some psycho, she probably thinks I'm dead," he said, swinging his legs over the bed and pulling off the various wires that where attached to him. He looked at the IV in his arm and then looked at Carly. "If you don't get someone, I will pull this out myself," he said.

Carly could see the determination in his eyes. She rolled her eyes and went out into the hall. She saw her mother and grabbed her arm. "Jason is insisting on leaving and is ready to pull his IV out if someone doesn't come and do it for him," she said, not giving Bobbie a chance to say anything as she pulled her into Jason's room.

Jason looked up and saw Carly re-enter the room with Bobbie in tow. "Bobbie, I need to find Jessica and I will not stay here while she is missing," he said, cutting off her protests. Bobbie rolled her eyes, a gesture that looked just like Carly and disconnected the IV and removed the needle in his arm.

"Jason, I do not agree with this and I know Monica won't either, and not just as your mother but as your doctor," said Bobbie.

"I will take full responsibility for my actions," he said as Sonny handed him his clothes. Jason walked into the bathroom, making sure not to show how much the effort hurt. As he pulled off the hospital gown and started to put on his clothes, Jason's mind flashed to the night he had spent with Jessica at her apartment. She had been nervous, but had put complete trust in him.

FLASHBACK

_Jason followed Jessica into her bedroom. He looked around the room, taking in the soft colors of the walls and bedding. He saw candles and flowers everywhere, and smiled, seeing Jessica in every part of the room. It was light and simple, but elegant, just like her._

_He turned to Jessica and took her into his arms, kissing her lightly as he ran his fingers through her hair. He loved it when she wore it loose. He liked how it flowed over her shoulders and down her back, ending just at her lower back._

_Jessica ran her hands down the front of Jason's shirt, wanting to feel all of him, to feel his bare flesh against hers. She reached the bottom of his shirt and began to lift it, letting her fingers graze his flat, hard abs._

_Jason kissed her again and then looked at her. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly, he didn't want to rush her._

_Jessica nodded and led him to the bed. She lay down on the bed, pulling Jason with her. He stretched out beside her, running his hand down her cheek before pulling her to him and kissing her again. He wanted to take his time and be gentle with her._

_Her skin was like silk under his fingers and he couldn't get enough of it. She had been shy at first, but soon relaxed and responded to his touches and kisses. _

END FLASHBACK

Jason finished dressing and headed out of the bathroom, ignoring Carly's worried look. He grabbed his jacket and gun from Sonny and headed out the door, but came to stop when he realized someone was standing in the door.

"Jason, I can't let you leave. You just had major surgery and your body needs time to heal," said Monica, hoping that he would listen to her and get back into bed.

Jason shook his head. "No Monica, Jessica is out there somewhere and I am going to find her."

Monica looked at the steely determination in her son's eyes and saw the love there, the same love she had seen when Jessica was the one injured. She sighed and nodded her head, stepping out of his way. She watched as he walked down the hall, could see the pain in his steps, but knew that he was not going to stop until he found the woman he loved and had her back safely.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Carly watched as Jason walked painfully with Sonny to the place on the docks where Jessica was last seen. Alcazar was already there with some men, looking for any clues as to Jessica's whereabouts or who might have done this. Carly was worried about Jason; he was breathing hard, clutching his side and looking very pale. "Jason," she started to say, but cut herself off at the look he gave her.

One of Alcazar's men came up to the group that had now formed. "Boss, I saw Lansing and Scorpio headed this way," he said.

Alcazar nodded, knowing the local law enforcement would show up eventually. He glanced over at Sonny, Carly, and Jason, surprised that the younger man was there so soon after surgery. Jason just glared at him. Alcazar turned from Jason's angry eyes and focused his attention on the District Attorney and Police Commissioner as they walked up to him.

"I understand there was a shooting here tonight," said Ric as Sonny rolled his eyes as his brother stated the obvious. "Anyone here willing to give details?" he asked, ignoring Sonny and turning his full attention to Alcazar and Jason.

Both men remained quiet. "Fine," said Ric. "No one wants to give a statement, not unusual, I understand. But let me also say that from what I understand, a young woman is missing, I believe your daughter Mr. Alcazar," Ric added, looking right into Alcazar's hardened green eyes. The same eyes that were glaring at him only an hour before. "I am sure you already have your own search for her underway, but let me remind you, she was attacked once and left for dead, and now she's gone. I wouldn't wait too long if I were you," he said cryptically, taking one last look around at those who were standing there. Before turning away, he looked from Carly, to Sonny, to Jason. "Hey big brother," he said, smirking at Sonny's irritated look. "Looks like your watch guard here is ready to pass out, might want to get him checked out, wouldn't want to be left unprotected." And with that said, Ric shook his head and left with Mac in tow. He had accomplished what he wanted, for now.

Jessica was now getting annoyed. Her kidnapper had been gone for hours and she was getting hungry, thirsty and edgy. He seemed to not care about her well-being while he was keeping her captive. _Maybe he doesn't need me alive_, she thought to herself as she got up off the bed and walked slowly around the room. She had left the lamp on, and was able to walk and stretch her muscles without bumping into anything. She wanted to be ready when he came back. Not wanting to wait for either her father or Jason to find her, Jessica had used the time to come up with an escape plan, not too easy since she had no idea where she was, but she was tired of being the victim.

Jessica was making her way past the door when she heard footsteps on the other side. She quickly stood behind the door, knowing this was her chance. She heard the lock click and the door started to swing open. She held her breath, waiting for him to step into the room.

As soon as she saw him step in, past the open door, she acted, kicking out at him, catching him in the stomach. He cried out in surprise and pain and hunched over at the sudden lose of air. Jessica didn't wait, but instead brought her leg back up, almost to her nose, and brought it down, fast and hard, on his back. The man landed face first on the hard cement ground. Jessica jumped over his body, still in the door and took off. She knew she should have locked him in the room, but wasn't sure how much time she had before he got up. She didn't check to see if she had completely knocked him out.

As she ran down the hall, Jessica saw a flight of cement stairs ahead of her and flew up them, two at a time. The door at the top was not locked and Jessica peered around the corner, making sure no one was on the other side. The coast was clear and Jessica went through the door, turning the lock on the door knob after closing it. It wouldn't do much to keep him in there, but it would buy her some time to get further away from him.

Looking around as she walked quickly and quietly, Jessica saw that she was in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse and that she had been kept in the basement. There were boxes and crates still stacked up around the perimeter of the wide open floor. Jessica stopped and looked around, listening for any sounds, anyone still in the building that would prevent her from leaving.

Jessica found an opening in the stacks of crates and slipped between them, finding a small space, wide enough for her to fit through. Deciding that trying to navigate through the maze of crates was safer than walking out in the open of the warehouse floor, Jessica slowly and carefully made her way toward what she hoped was the way out.

"Damn it!" he said as he pulled himself up off the floor. _Where the hell did she learn that?_ He wondered as he straightened the jacket of his suit. He had come straight from his job to check on her, maybe play with her head a bit, and see how far he could go before she would break. He was not expecting the little wench to knock him out and take off.

He made his way to the stairs leading into the warehouse, not worrying about her getting away. The center of the warehouse floor was open and bare and he would be able to catch up to her in a heartbeat.

Reaching for the basement door's handle, he smiled to himself when he realized it was locked. _Thinks she could buy herself some time, huh? _Well, he was going to show her and he wasn't going to be nice about it either. He had made the mistake of underestimating her before, but he knew better now. He rammed into the door with his shoulder and felt the weak wood break, allowing him entrance into the main part of the warehouse.

Looking around, he was surprised to not see her, but smiled again as he thought of the crates and boxes piled up around the edge of the room. She probably found a way in between them and was working her way to the exit now. He made his way toward the door, knowing that even if she got there first; there was no way for her to get out. He had chained the door shut with a large padlock, and he was the only one with the key. He himself had used the other entrance at the back of the warehouse, closer to the basement. If she realized this, she would have to backtrack through the entire warehouse and then search for the door as he had hidden it behind more boxes and crates. There was no way out for her.

"Look, we're not going to find Jessica by standing here glaring at each other," said Carly. "We need to work together to find her."

"Carly's right," said Sonny, knowing he was going to regret saying that. "We need to figure out who this psycho is, what his plan is and where he's keeping your daughter," he directed at Alcazar. "Are we in agreement on this?"

Alcazar looked at Sonny, considering what he was proposing. There was a lot of bad blood between himself, Sonny and Morgan, and he wasn't sure how much he was going to be able to trust them, but he knew he was going to need help to find Jessica, and find her alive. Alcazar sighed as he nodded his head. "Yes, we are in agreement, on one condition."

"What condition?" asked Jason, he did not like the idea of working with Alcazar. Even though he was the father of the woman he loved, the man had intended on killing him tonight and that's why Jessica had been out here in the first place. She had followed her father to stop him and look where it got her now.

"That when this is all over, and Jessica is returned to me safely," he paused a moment and took a deep breath. "You make it perfectly clear to her that the two of you are over and you have never loved her."

Jason stared at the man in front of him, wondering if he had finally gone crazy, like his brother. There was no way he would agree to this. He already tried it by breaking up with her, but that hadn't worked. He was about to say as much when Carly beat him to it, and for once he was glad for her involvement because he was too tired, frustrated and worried to argue.

"What? You have got to be kidding," said Carly, looking at Alcazar like he had three heads. "Jason already broke up with Jessica and look what happened? Whoever is doing this has a purpose, and we need to figure out what that is." Carly was on a roll now that she had the attention of all three men. "Lorenzo, you have to understand that Jessica is deeply in love. . . with Jason, and not his breaking up with her to keep her safe or your threats, have stopped her from loving him. And on the flip side, Jason loves Jessica and a bullet has not stopped him from being there for you, despite your threats. Forcing this condition on him is not going to help get Jessica found any faster. The quicker you can accept that fact, the better we can all work together." Carly finally stopped to take a breath and looked around at the men around her. Sonny looked at her in awe, Jason in appreciation, and Lorenzo with anger.

Carly waited, knowing they were wasting time standing around. She finally had enough. "You know what, the three of you could figure out what you want to do and decide if you're going to work together or not, but I am going to act." And with that Carly turned on her heel and stalked up the stairs. _If I leave all the decisions to them, nothing will get done_, Carly fumed to herself. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she wasn't worried, Carly was nothing if not creative.

Sonny, Jason, and Alcazar stood there in surprise as Carly walked away, muttering to herself. Sonny was the first to break the silence. "I'm going with her, before we know it, she's going to need rescuing too." Sonny patted Jason on the shoulder and headed off after his wife.

Alcazar and Jason remained on the docks in a stand off. Alcazar was the first to speak. "I have not always been the father to Jessica that she needed, but I will be that for her now. I do not want you involved with you or the business and if I have to send her away to make that happen, I will."

"Then you don't your daughter at all," said Jason quietly with a shake of his head. He then walked away from Alcazar before he did something he regretted.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"I cannot believe those two!" Carly shouted as she and Sonny walked into their penthouse. She was still fuming over the way Alcazar and Jason were acting. "I just want to take their hard, stubborn heads and knock some sense into them!"

Sonny smiled slightly as he watched Carly yank her jacket off and throw it over the armchair. She then stalked over to the wet bar and poured herself a drink downing it in one gulp.

"I understand that they both love Jessica, but arguing about it, and throwing out ultimatums in place of accepting help is not going to get her found, and found alive," she continued, oblivious to Sonny, who had also removed his jacket and joined her at the bar.

Sonny looked over at his wife as he poured himself a drink and could see the wheels in her head spinning. He knew she was hatching up some outrageous plan to rescue Jessica and make Jason and Alcazar work together. He just hoped they wouldn't have to rescue her in the process.

Jessica knew that he had to be in the warehouse with her somewhere, but she hoped that she would make it to the doors before he did. She carefully made her way through the maze of boxes, being careful not to bump into any of them and give her position away.

Jessica finally came to the end of the maze and could see the door just ahead of her. She slowly made her way to the door, sticking to the shadows along the edges of the wall. With the door now in site, Jessica darted out of the shadows to it, but her heart almost stopped when she saw the thick chain looped through the handles and the large padlock hanging from it. _Now what am I going to do?_ She asked herself, dismayed at her current situation. _There has to be another way out of here._ Jessica figured she would have to back track through the warehouse and head toward the basement. Just as she was about to re-enter her maze, she felt him grab her from behind, his gloved hand covering her mouth.

She struggled and was thrown into the door, the chain and padlock biting into her back painfully. He punched her hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall to her knees. Jessica tried to pull in some breaths and steady herself to fight back. She was not going to let him win.

He grabbed her arms and hauled her to her feet, gripping her tightly so she would not run off, but Jessica kicked out at his shin and then elbowed him in the jaw with her free arm. He lost his grasp on her and she started to run.

Jessica kept to the center of the large room where she would have more room to run faster and sprinted toward the basement door.

He was not going to let her get away. He ran after her, ignoring the throbbing in his jaw, sure that she had broken it. He gained on her, grabbed her, and threw her into a stack of crates and boxes. He watched as she crashed into them, causing the pile to tumble down around her. He walked over to her, pulling the knife from his pocket.

Jessica shook her head, trying to ignore the pain that was coursing through her body. Jessica looked around and saw him heading right for her, a knife in his hand. She recognized that knife. She had last seen it shining in the moonlight and glistening with her blood.

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled, trying to buy some time. Maybe if she got him to talk, to tell her what his plans or reasons were for doing this, she could use it against him and escape.

He shook his head. "No, no, no," he said. "I have worked to hard and long to be tricked by a selfish brat like you. You are just a pawn in my game and as soon as I am done with you, I will kill you," he said.

Jessica's eyes widened at the calmness of his voice, as if they were discussing something as trivial as the weather and not the ending of her life. She knew there would be no reasoning with him. "You won't get away with this; my father will find me and kill you."

"Oh, they won't find you my dear. Your father, your friends and your lover will be so distracted by your disappearance; they won't even know what hit them."

Jason made his way back to his penthouse. He needed to clear his head and figure out a way to find Jessica. But as soon as he saw Carly standing in his doorway, he knew that was not going to happen. She looked determined to make him see things her way.

"Not now Carly," he said as he pushed past her and into his apartment. Carefully, Jason eased his jacket off and threw it over the desk chair. He then walked to the couch and sat slowly, wincing at the pain in his side. He leaned his head back against the cushions, his eyes closed, but he knew she was still there.

"Go away Carly," he said, not opening his eyes.

Carly had watched her friend silently, wishing she could do something for him. Jason had always been there to help her in the past, no matter what mess she got herself into, and she wanted to do the same for him. She hated to see the look of pain on his face and in his eyes and she knew it was not all from his injury.

Ignoring Jason's command, Carly gently sat on the sofa beside him. "Look Jason, I just want to help. I care about Jessica too and I want her found," she said, not getting a response from Jason. For a moment, she thought that he had fallen asleep.

"Alright Carly, I'll bite. What's your plan?" he asked, turning his head to face her.

"I think you and Alcazar need to work together with Sonny. You all of a large amount of resources at your disposal and if you put them together, we should be able to find her," she said.

Jason shook his head. "I am not working with Alcazar on this Carly, you know that."

"Jason, she is his daughter and he loves her too. You both need to stop fighting and threatening each other and start working together!" Carly exclaimed, getting frustrated again. "Can't you just put your hate for Alcazar aside for now?"

Jason looked at Carly and wondered if she remembered what Alcazar had done to them over the years. Before he could say anything, there was a knock and his door and then Sonny walked in.

"Alcazar is here and I think we all need to talk," he said. Seeing the look on Jason's face, he added, "I don't like it either Jason, but I think the only way we are going to find Jessica is to work together."

Jason knew that both Sonny and Carly were right, but he was about to admit that verbally in front of Carly, she would never let him live it down. He nodded his head.

Sonny went across the hall to where Alcazar was waiting with Max keeping a close eye on him. "Jason has agreed to the meeting. We'll talk across the hall, I don't want him to have to walk back and forth," he said.

Alcazar nodded in agreement and followed Sonny to Jason's penthouse. He looked around, noticing that it was not as dark or as decorated as Sonny's and he thought that fit the younger man well. He looked to where Jason sat on the couch with Carly, trying to not show the pain he was in. At that moment Alcazar realized something, this man, his enemy, had taken a bullet meant for his daughter. He had refused to stay in the hospital after surgery so that he could find her. _I hate to admit this,_ he thought to himself, _but I can see how much he loves Jessica_. And for reasons he could not explain to himself, it scared him. He barely knew his daughter and just when she was finally letting him into her life, he was about to lose her to a man who obviously loved her very deeply.

Jessica's heart was pounding as she watched him come closer to her, the knife raised and ready to strike. As he got closer, Jessica reacted and brought up her knee hard into his groin. He cried out in pain and brought the knife down fast. Jessica moved at the last moment, feeling the knife plunge into her upper arm. As she fell sideways, she grabbed the ski mask covering his face and pulled it off. "You!" she gasped.


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jessica stared in shock at the man standing in front of her. "You're Ric Lansing, you're the District Attorney," she said, stunned.

"Congratulations Miss Alcazar, but now it looks like I am going to have to change my plans slightly," he took advantage of her shock and hit her hard in the face, sending her to her knees. "I definitely _cannot_ leave you alive now." He grabbed her by the arm and roughly pulled her back to her feet. He pushed her into the still standing crates behind her and pinned her there by putting one hand around her throat. "I didn't want to have to kill you - yet, I still need you for leverage, but I can't allow you to be able to identify me." He brought the knife up, ready to plunge it into her heart.

Jessica was still dazed from the punch to her face, and it was hard to breath with the way he was squeezing her throat, but she was not going to let him get away with this, she was not going to be victim. At the last moment, as the knife came down, Jessica allowed her body to go limp, which threw him off guard slightly and she shifted her weight to the right. The knife continued to plunge down, but missed her heart and tore into her right shoulder. Jessica cried out in pain and twisted away from Ric, causing the knife to scrape down her arm. With the movement, Ric broke his grip on her throat and Jessica stumbled away from him.

Gasping for air, Jessica tried to move away from him, but Ric recovered quickly and grabbed her now injured arm. Jessica yelled out in pain and swung her body around, kicking Ric's very sensitive area. As he went down, Jessica started to run, she needed to find a way out this time or she was dead for sure.

The tension in the room was so tense; you could cut it with a knife. Jason sat on the couch staring at the wall opposite him, Alcazar sat in the armchair, eyes focused on the fireplace. Sonny and Carly looked between the two men, not sure what was going to happen.

Alcazar prided himself on being a patient man, but he was worried about his daughter and based on Jason's reputation, Alcazar knew he was going to have to speak first or sit here all night in silence. "You have to understand Morgan, that my daughter means a lot to me . . . and I will not have her involved with you or anyone associated with you," he said, glaring at both Sonny and Carly.

Jason shook his head. _This man is relentless,_ he thought. He was not going to sit here, in his own home, and be told – yet again – that he was not good enough for Jessica. "This is not going to work," he said in a low and dangerous voice, shifting his cold blue eyes to Alcazar. "We are not going to be able to see eye to eye on this and I will not leave Jessica. I suggest you leave."

Alcazar nodded his head, stood up and headed to the door.

"Wait!" Carly called out, stopping Alcazar before he could open the door. "What is wrong with you two?" she asked incredulously. "You are both being hard-headed pigs and it is getting us nowhere! I understand that you both love her in your own ways, but come on! Enough is enough!"

Jason stood, standing as straight as he could. "Stay out of this Carly," he said as he grabbed his jacket. "I will handle this my way."

He pushed past Alcazar and walked out of the penthouse. Before getting on the elevator, he turned to Max. "Make sure Carly stays put and does not follow either me or Alcazar when he leaves."

Max nodded in understanding, although he was not looking forward to having to stop Carly when she was intent on doing something.

Jessica made it to the door of the basement. _I can't go back down there, I'll be trapped,_ she thought, but she had been unable to find another way out and she knew Ric would be after her again soon.

She looked around, not sure what to do. Her arm was numb and she couldn't move it. She felt dizzy and weak from blood loss and the last couple of blows to the head. _I won't be able to defend myself if he attacks me again_. Before Jessica could come to a decision, she heard Ric come up behind her. She spun around, but was so dizzy that she lost her balance. She grabbed onto Ric and the two fell down the basement stairs.

"Stan, it's Jason, I need you to look into any enemies Alcazar might have pissed off recently. Anything you can find that cane lead us to what happened to Jessica. Yeah . . . call me as soon as you have something." Jason flipped the phone closed as he walked through the docks. He had a feeling she was somewhere nearby and he was going to do whatever he could to find her.

Jessica stirred. Every part of her body hurt and she groaned as she rolled off of Ric, who had broken her fall. It was hard as she tried to focus on Ric. He was still breathing, but was apparently unconscious. She was not going to wait around for him to wake up. She checked his pockets, hoping to find a cell phone, or the keys to the front door.

"Come on, where are they?" she mumbled and finally found what she was looking for in his suit jacket pocket. The cell phone was fully charged, but there was no reception in the basement. Jessica also found a set of keys. She grabbed the keys and phone and made her way back up the stairs, trying to keep her balance as her head continued to spin. Jessica made it to the top and turned to close the door behind her, seeing Ric still lying at the bottom. Not wanting to take any more chances, she closed the door and, using her one good arm and her feet, she was able to move a few boxes in from of the door.

Looking down at the phone, Jessica saw there was better reception and she dialed a familiar number.

Jason's phone rang and he flipped it open, not recognizing the number that flashed on the screen. "Yea?" he said. He heard heavy breathing on the other end, but no one spoke. "Hello? Is someone there?"

Jessica could hear Jason's voice on the other end of the line, but it was getting harder and harder for her to focus. "Jason . . . "she finally got out, but then everything became black.

"Jessica? JESSICA!" Jason yelled into the phone. The line was still connected, but he couldn't hear anything. He quickly disconnected the call and called Stan.

"Listen, a call just came in and I think it was Jessica, have the called traced and let me know where it leads," he said. Once he got Stan's okay, he hung up and called Sonny. "I'm down at the dock by Pier 52; I might have a lead on Jessica."


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Jason was still waiting for a call from Stan when Sonny and Carly arrived at the pier. He quickly explained what had happened.

"Are you sure it was Jessica?" asked Carly hopefully. She was worried about her friend.

Jason nodded his head. "I would know her voice anywhere Carly, it was her." He was also worried. Jessica's voice had sounded faint and small on the phone and he was afraid that she was hurt and it was killing him that he did not know where she was.

A couple of minutes later, his phone rang. It was Stan. "Were you able to trace the number?" he asked before the other man could speak.

"I got it," said Stan, looking at the number he had written down and the name that the number belonged to. "But I'm not sure if this is right."

"Whose phone did Jessica call me from?" Jason asked, hearing the hesitation in Stan's voice.

"Ric Lansing's," came the reply. Jason was stunned a moment. Ric Lansing? That couldn't be right. Would Ric really stop this low again? "What's his location?"

"According to my sources, no one has seen him all evening. Not since the shooting on the docks."

"Alright. I happen to know some of the property that he owns. Get some guys together to check two of his houses that are just outside of town. The addresses are in the file that we put together on him when he had Carly. I'll check out the docks, he also had a couple of abandoned warehouses." Jason hung up the phone and looked at Sonny and Carly, who were waiting expectantly to hear what Jason had to say.

"The number Jessica called me from belongs to Ric Lansing," he said and watched as Carly's eyes opened wide in surprise and Sonny's darkened. "No one has seen him since earlier tonight on the docks. I have Stan gathering some men together to check the houses he has. I am going to check the warehouses."

"Wait a minute. I know Lansing is a sick creep, but do you think he would have done this again?" Carly asked, remembering her own recent experience with Ric.

"I think that at this point, Lansing could be capable of anything," Jason said, silently vowing to take Lansing out himself if he did anything to hurt Jessica.

Pain tore through his body as Ric slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment to remember what had happened, but then it all came back to him. Ignoring the pain, Ric sat up and looked around, trying to see where Jessica was. He knew that she couldn't have gotten too far.

No matter how much Jason and Sonny tried to persuade Carly to wait for them back at the penthouse, she would not leave. Not even threats of calling Max to carry her home worked and they finally gave in, making Carly promise that she would not get in the way.

The three friends made their way to the first warehouse that Ric owned. It was run down and never used, but they had to check anyway. As they walked in through the front door, they could tell that no one was there, but did a quick check anyway, just to make sure. They then headed out to the second warehouse and when Jason tried to open the doors, he found that they were locked.

"This has to be the one," he said as he pulled his gun out. He saw Sonny do the same and saw him hand Carly an extra one. He knew Carly could handle herself with a gun and was not worried. Jason tried the door again, but it would not budge. The three moved back slightly as Jason then shot at the lock, but the door still didn't open.

Carly stepped forward and looked through the hole in the door, made by the bullet. "It looks like there's a chain looped through the handles," he said. "We're going to have to find another way in."

_The bastard probably wanted to make sure Jessica couldn't get out_, Jason thought as his blood boiled at the thought of Jessica being trapped in there.

Being familiar with the layout of a warehouse, Sonny and Jason headed around to the back, Carly close behind. When they reached the back door, Jason found it was easy to open and assumed this was the door Ric used to get in and out. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside, his gun in front of him.

It had taken a while, but Ric finally made it to the top of the stair. When he turned the knob, he found that it was locked and had to laugh out loud. He had discovered that his phone and keys were missing and knew that Jessica had taken them and tried to escape. But he had seen the damage he had done to her arm and knew she was probably losing a large amount of blood, so there was no way she could have gotten out of the warehouse before passing out.

Taking a deep breath, Ric rammed his shoulder into the door, biting his lip to keep from crying out at the pain that coursed through his body. He hit the door again and again, until it burst open and he fell onto a pile of boxes and crates that Jessica had obviously pushed there to keep him in the basement.

Pulling himself up, he saw her lying not that far away, unmoving, his phone lying on the ground beside her. He made his way over to her and picked up the phone. He quickly checked the last calls made list and cursed when he recognized the number on the screen: Jason Morgan.

_Damn it!_ He checked the time stamp of the call and saw that it was about an hour ago. Morgan must be on his way now if he had figured out what was going on, and even though Ric despised Jason, he knew Jason was a smart man; he would have to be to have survived in the business this long.

Checking Jessica's pulse, Ric found a weak one. He didn't know how much time he had, but he knew it would be risky to finish the job here. He had to take her and mover her to another location. He had to make her death look like accident, one that Morgan and Corinthos can be blamed for. He picked her up and headed toward the front doors, but stopped when he saw the holes in the door. Someone had tried to shoot out the lock to get in.

Jason, Sonny and Carly made their way into the small office of the warehouse and stopped short as they looked around. Every inch of wall space was covered with pictures. There were pictures of Jessica working at The Cellar, of her walked in the park or on the docks. There were pictures of her with Jason, Carly and Alcazar, all candid shots that were taken without any one's knowledge.

Ric quickly unlocked the padlock that held the chains together with the key that he had found clasped in Jessica's hand. He had thrown her over his shoulder as he opened the lock and pulled the chain free. Dropping them to the floor, Ric hauled open the door and headed out to the car that he had waiting for him. Once inside, he drove out to the cliffs. Getting out of the car, Ric made sure that all the doors were locked and that Jessica was still unconscious before climbing out of the car and pulling out his cell phone.

"If you ever want to see your daughter alive, I suggested you get out to the bluff just outside of town. You have ten minutes." Disconnecting the call, Ric dialed another number. "Meet me at the bluff outside of town in ten minutes or she dies."

Jessica stirred and pried her eyes open. She looked around her and saw that she was in a car. Sitting forward, she could see that the car was parked in a clearing at the top of a cliff. Looking around, she could see Ric standing outside of the car, the phone to his ear. She had no idea what he was planning, but she did know that she was not going to wait around to find out. Very slowly, Jessica lifted the lock on her door and gently eased the door open. She climbed out of the car, staying low so that Ric would not see her and gently closed the door again. She was beginning to feel dizzy again from the blood loss, but she was determined to get out of this alive, no matter what.

There was a cluster of trees and underbrush nearby, and Jessica made her way over to them, hoping to find something to use as a weapon. Looking on the ground, she found a large tree branch. Picking it up, she hefted it in her good hand and turned back to the clearing.

Ric looked at his watch, it was almost time. He wanted to make sure that both Morgan and Alcazar were there to witness the death of the woman they both loved. If his planned worked, both men would be so overcome with anger and grief that they would kill each other.

"This is probably a trap Jason," said Carly quietly as she, Sonny and Jason watched Ric in the clearing. They had arrived before Ric called them, having found his location through Stan, who had been tracing the satellite feed on the phone.

As they watched, Jason saw one of the car doors slowly open and say Jessica crawl out. He pointed this out to Carly and Sonny, all of them realizing that Ric did not see her. From where they were hiding, Jason could see that she was hurt and covered in blood and it took all of his will power not to kill Ric right then and there.

"She's heading toward the tree," said Sonny as he watched Jessica. She didn't look to good and swayed a couple of times. Then he looked back at Ric and smiled at the disheveled and bruised sight of him. Obviously this girl was tougher than she seemed.

Jason saw a car approaching and saw that it was Alcazar. "It's time," he said and nodded to Carly, who rolled her eyes and nodded back, the signal to stay put while Sonny and Jason went out into the clearing.

Alcazar saw both Jason and Sonny coming from out of nowhere and wondered what the hell was going on. He had received a call to come to the bluff if he wanted to see his daughter alive. When he got there, he had seen no one, just a car sitting at the edge of the bluff.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"It seems we got the same message as you," Jason said, eyes hard and cold as he glared at Alcazar.

"Then where is she?" Alcazar asked, getting more and more suspicious of what was going on. "Who called us?"

Jessica saw her father, Sonny and Jason standing in the clearing talking, but she did not see Ric anywhere. This had to be a trap. He was going to do something to them and she had to stop it.

Ric watched the men in the clearing, a smile coming over his face at the thought of eliminating all of them at once. He held the remote detonator in his hand, ready to push the button when he heard a click behind him.

"Don't even think about it," said a hard, cold, female voice.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Ric froze, feeling the business end of the gun stab between his shoulder blades. His hand tightened on the remote, ready to ignite to bomb hidden in the trunk of the car. Originally, Ric planned an "accident" – which would result in the demise of young Jessica Alcazar – and frame Jason Morgan for it. This would in turn result in a grief stricken Lorenzo Alcazar killing Jason, leaving Sonny vulnerable to attack. But a better plan came to mind. Ric planted the bomb in the car and lured the three men to it. Once close enough, all Ric had to do was press the button and eliminate his biggest headache. And he was close to achieving that, that is, until Carly decided to butt in.

Ric knew that her connection to the three men would make her want to protect them, and his recent experience with her proved to him that she was gutsy and crazy enough to do it.

"Put the gun down Carly," Ric said, using a tone he would have used with a small child. "I can press this button and blow them all to hell faster than you could pull that trigger."

"You won't get away with this Ric." Carly wasn't sure what to do. She knew that Ric was right, but she wasn't about to let him kill three of the most important men in her life and get away with it.

Carly's mind began to race as options and plans started to click in place. She had to make Ric believe that she was backing off and get the attentions of Sonny, Jason and Lorenzo. She knew that Jessica was safe and away from the car – something Ric did not yet know.

Carly reengaged the safety on the gun and took a step back. She watched as Ric's shoulders relaxed slightly. He turned to her, a sick smile on his face. "Good choice Carly, but it will do little to save them."

Carly's eyes widened as he brought up the remote, his finger poised to set off the explosive. Then, movement just behind Ric caught Carly's eyes as a large tree branch swung around and hit Ric on the side of the head like it was a wiffle ball sitting on a tee. As Ric went down, Carly watched in horror as his hand tightened around the detonator, pushing the button.

Raising the gun in the air over her head, Carly squeezed off two shots to get the men's attention. When they turned toward her, Carly waved her arms and yelled "THERE'S A BOMB IN THE CAR!"

Sonny, Jason, and Alcazar looked at each other and then all three dove toward the cover of trees, Sonny and Jason instinctively tackling Alcazar to the ground as the other man moved toward the car. He had not seen Jessica escape.

Carly hit the ground beside Jessica once she knew the men were safe, seconds before the car exploded in a ball of orange-blue flames.

* * *

Once it was safe to get up, the men ran over to where Carly, Jessica and Ric were lying. They took in the scene in front of them. Ric was laying face down, a large gash on the side of his head, a thick tree branch beside him. Carly had thrown her body over Jessica's, and as she got up, Jason saw Jessica's blood soaked sleeve and battered face. He dropped to his knees beside her, looking for her pulse and breathing a sigh of relief when he found one. It was weak, but it was there.

Lorenzo dropped to her other side, taking in what Jason had seen. He looked up at Jason and saw the other man nod, indicating that she was alive. Lorenzo leaned over and murmured soothing words to her in Spanish.

"I called an ambulance," said Sonny as he held onto Carly, thanking God that she was okay. He then looked over at his brother and shook his head. This time Ric had gone too far and he was going to have to suffer the consequences.

* * *

Jessica opened her eyes and looked around. The last thing she remembered was hearing Ric tell Carly that he was going to kill Sonny, Jason, and her father with one blow. Not remembering what happened after that, Jessica bolt up right in bed, crying out from the pain that ripped through her body.

Hands gently eased her back against the pillows and she heard a soft voice, a voice she knew, say, "Careful. You've been through a lot. You need to rest."

Opening her eyes again, Jessica found herself looking into eyes that mirrored her own. "Dad?" she asked, hearing her voice crack from dryness. "You're alive? What about Jason? And Carly?"

"Relax Jessie, everyone is fine," Lorenzo assured his daughter. "They are all out in the hallway, waiting for you to wake up."

"How long have I been here?" she asked after sipping some of the water her father had handed her.

"Three days." Lorenzo had barely left her side since then, waiting for her to wake up, praying that she would survive. He had allowed Jason and Carly to sit with her at times, knowing it would be what Jessica wanted, although it had killed him to be away from her.

Jessica stared at her father, noticing the cuts on his face. "What happened to you?" she asked, bringing a hand to his cheek.

Lorenzo thought back to that afternoon when he had been called to the clearing. He remembered how Carly had yelled about a bomb being in the car, the car his daughter was in. He had tried to go to the car, but Sonny and Jason had grabbed him and thrown him onto the ground with them, saving his life.

Flashback

_Lorenzo hit the ground hard, with Jason and Sonny each holding his arms down, keeping him from getting up and running to the car. "Get the hell off of me! My daughter is in that car!" he yelled, not believing that Jason was keeping him from saving her._

_"Jessica is already out of the car!" Jason yelled at him, losing his grip on Lorenzo's arm and ducking to avoid the fist that came swinging at his head. "She escaped before you got here. Ric never saw her."_

_"Lansing? What is he doing here?" Lorenzo asked, not understanding what was going on._

_"He's the one that's been behind all of this," said Sonny as he stood and brushed his clothes off._

_Lorenzo stood as well and looked at the charred remains of the car. He then followed the other two men to where Carly, Jessica and Ric were. _

End Flashback

Lorenzo knew he would never get the images of his bloodied and battered daughter out his mind. Just looking at her, he had thought that she was dead. Lorenzo couldn't even explain the relief that went through is body when he saw Jason check her pulse and nod, letting him know that she was still alive, if barely.

Lorenzo looked into Jessica's worried face and smiled gently, taking her hand in his. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Why don't you rest and I will let everyone know that you're awake."

Jessica nodded, feeling her eyes growing heavy. Fighting to keep them open, she asked her father the question that had been on her mind since she woke up. "Dad, what happened to Ric Lansing? I know he's the only that took me and did this to me. I remember . . . I remember hitting him . . . I heard him tell Carly that he was going to kill you . . . and Jason and Sonny, and there was nothing Carly could do to stop him. I know I hit him with . . . a tree branch? Did I kill him?"

Lorenzo looked at his daughter, not knowing how to answer her question, not wanting to. He stayed silent and watched as her eyes finally closed and she fell asleep.

* * *

Carly jumped up when she saw Lorenzo come out of Jessica's room. "How is she?"

Lorenzo looked at the people standing there. At Carly, the one woman he had truly loved after Sophie. At Sonny, his sworn enemy and the one block to Carly. At Jason, a one man killing machine who had fallen in love with his daughter, a man who had risked his own life for her. "Yes, she woke up briefly, but is asleep again."

"What did she say?" asked Jason, who was itching to get in there and see her. He had respected Alcazar's wishes these past few days, and did not force the man to let him see her, but he needed to know that she was okay now.

"She wanted to know that we were all alright. I assured her that we were," Lorenzo began, looking at Jason. "She remembered hearing Lansing threaten our lives, and she remembered hitting him. She asked if she had killed him."

"What did you tell her?" Jason asked. He looked between Carly and Sonny before turning his gaze back to the older man.

"She fell asleep before I could answer her question."

"Are you going to tell her the truth?" Carly asked. She felt horrible for what Jessica went through at the hands of Ric, and she personally felt that he got whatever he deserved, but she wasn't sure how Jessica would handle the truth.

Lorenzo looked at Carly. "No. At least not right now. Jessica has a long recovery ahead of her, and I don't think her knowing that she took another man's life, no matter how much he was deserving of it, will help her any." He looked right at Jason and then added. "I don't want anyone telling her the truth, no matter how much she asks."

"Our silence will give her the answer Alcazar," said Jason. Even though he wanted to shield and protect Jessica from what happened, he knew that he couldn't look her in the face and lie to her. "It would be better if she knew the truth, and that it be one of us who told her."

* * *

When Jessica woke up again, the sun was shining through the windows and her father was at her bedside again. "Hey," she said, getting his attention.

"How are you feeling?" Lorenzo asked, moving closer to her bed. He had sat there all night thinking about what Jason had said, knowing that he was right. It would be best if Jessica knew the truth about what had happened. She would probably hear about it anyway. Lorenzo had decided that he would be the one to tell her, feeling that as her father, it was his responsibility. _But how do you tell your nineteen-year-old daughter that she killed a man, despite the fact that he had kidnapped you, beat and injured you with the intention of blowing you and those you cared about away?_

"Groggy and sore," answered Jessica. She could tell that her father wanted to tell her something. "What is it?" she asked.

"I think you need to know the truth Jessie. You asked me before what happened to Lansing. I was going to lie to you. I was going to with hold the truth from you. But I can't do that."

Jessica looked at her father. She saw the truth in his eyes. "No . . . Oh my God . . ." she couldn't breath, she was gasping for air.

Lorenzo pulled the door opened and called for help. Dr. Monica Quartermaine came rushing into the room. "Okay, Jessica, I need you to calm down . . . Mr. Alcazar, I need you to wait outside."

"I need to be . . ." Lorenzo started, but Monica turned back to him.

"Out," she said sternly.

Lorenzo nodded and went out into the hallway, worried about what was happening to Jessica.

Monica came out a couple of minutes later. "How is she?"

"She's resting. I take it you told her about Ric Lansing?"

"Yes, I felt she needed to know the truth sooner rather then later," Lorenzo answered.

"Well, I needed to sedate her in order to calm her. She should be out for most of the day." Monica then left for her rounds.

* * *

Jason quietly opened the door to Jessica's room. Monica had told him about Jessica's reaction to learning the truth, and she had cautioned him to be careful about what he talked about with her.

Jessica was sitting up in bed and looked up when Jason walked in. "I was wondering when you would come by."

"I wanted to give you some time, and your father asked that I wait before I saw you."

"And you actually agreed with him?" Jessica asked with a slight smile.

"Not at first, but I was willing to do anything if it helped you," Jason answered, puzzled and a little concerned at how clam she was.

Jessica shifted slightly, wincing in pain as she did. "You don't have to tiptoe around me Jason, I know the truth and I have had the last couple of days to digest it."

Jason sat in the chair beside her, not liking the coldness he heard in her voice, or the emptiness he saw in her eyes. "Jess, I know it was hard to hear. . . "

"No Jason, it wasn't just hard to hear, it was excruciating. I am not saying that Ric didn't get what he had coming to him, after what he did to me . . . but I cannot accept with the fact that I took another human's life. How do you deal with it Jason? How do you look at yourself in the mirror the next day, knowing that you killed someone?"

Jason was taken aback by Jessica's questions. "I guess I never thought about it before. Jessica, I don't kill for the pleasure of it, if I have to kill someone, it is to protect those that I care about. You were protecting yourself and us. If it wasn't for you and Carly, me, Sonny and Alcazar would all be dead right now."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Jessica snapped at Jason. "There is no excuse for what I did Jason. Please, I want to be alone." Jessica turned her head away from Jason, waiting for him to leave. When he did, Jessica allowed the tears to fall.

* * *

The next week was difficult on everyone. Jessica had shut down and refused to talk about what happened to her. She only spoke to the police, and even then it was just the facts, delivered in a cold, monotone voice. No one knew what to do for her and were afraid to push too hard, not sure how Jessica would react.

Finally, Carly had had enough and went to Lorenzo's apartment where Jessica was staying. "Okay, you need to snap out of this funk and join the living Jessica!" Carly exclaimed as she barged into the apartment, finding Jessica curled up in the corner of the couch staring at nothing.

With a sigh, Jessica barely moved as she shifted her eyes to Carly. "Go away Carly. I don't want to talk about it."

"Too bad, because I am going to talk about it. I know that what you went through was horrible Jessica, but you have two men who love you and are worried about you. They are not sure how to help you," Carly ranted as she paced around the room, throwing her hands in the air.

Jessica rolled her eyes and sat up, watching the woman who had become a close friend over the last few months. "Carly, how do you do it?" she asked, stopping the older woman in her tracks.

"How do I do what?" Carly asked, curious as to what Jessica was referring to.

"Carly, you married into this life; you chose it, why do you stay? I mean, you have been kidnapped multiple times, held hostage, had your life threatened, have been shot in the head and almost killed, why don't you just take your kids and leave?"

"Jessica, you have to understand, I have never been innocent myself in all of that, but I love Sonny and accept him for who he is and what he does. I know that no matter what happens to me, Sonny and even Jason will always be there to rescue me. Sonny and Jason are the two most important men in my life Jessica, I could never abandon them," Carly explained, hoping the younger girl could understand.

Jessica looked up at Carly, tears glistening in her eyes. "What if love isn't enough?" she asked in a whisper.

The End

. . . . or is it?

* * *

Author's Note: I hope that you all enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I already have ideas for a sequel, so look for it coming soon!

I want to thank all of you who have been loyal readers and offered great feedback. I want to especially thank Nicole (EvenAngelsFall22) for being a sounding board and a fresh eye when I was stuck. And thanks to Jenny who has always challenged me in my writing and for being a great writing partner. And thanks to my mom, who believes I can be a great writer.

This was my first General Hospital fan fiction and it has opened up for me a new experience in my writing, allowing me to take what I have always loved to do more seriously.


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